


Vanitas' Birth by Sleep

by The_Unlimited



Series: Vanitas' journey through light [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Add in of a new character, Don't know what the hell I'm doing, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2019-10-09 03:31:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 77,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17399231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Unlimited/pseuds/The_Unlimited
Summary: What if throughout the entire Kingdom Hearts series, there was an extra person to help out through all of the nonsense they went through with Xehanort? What if he went through the events starting at Birth By Sleep, all the way to KHIII? What if he was a good version of Vanitas, who was really miffed when Xehanort stole his name for Ventus' darkness?





	1. The Last Night

**Author's Note:**

> This begins with Birth by Sleep, slowly going over the entirety of the Kingdom Hearts series with an added bonus of good guy Vanitas. One thing to take in mind, here, at the beginning, he's about 15 years old, and already a keyblade master

Ventus opened his eyes to see the night sky still staring up at him. He then decided to sit up to get a better look at the castle. He proceeded to yawn a big one, then laid back down on the ground. Unfortunately for him, the head of a blue haired girl suddenly appeared over him.

"Whoa!" he screamed as he sat back up. He turned around to look at the girl which he then made it so he was kneeling in front of her.

She was leaning down to look at him face to face, and proceeded to laugh at Ven.

"Give me a break, Aqua," Ven said as Aqua straightened up.

"Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead," Aqua said, slightly berating him. "You know, you should have at least brought a blanket."

Ventus looked down in wonder, asking himself, "But did I dream that place up? It really felt like I'd been there before, looking up at the stars."

Aqua responded with a ruffle of Ven's hair. "'Cept you've always lived here with us."

"Yeah," Ven said with uncertainty, looking down. Then he perked back up again. "Yeah!"

The two then stood up, walked over to the edge of the cliff, and sat down, their legs dangling over the ledge.

Ventus then looked at Aqua and asked, "Hey, Aqua?"

"Hmm?" she responded.

"D'you ever wonder what stars are?" Ven asked. "Where light comes from?"

Aqua considered her answer before she spoke it. "Well they say..."

"That every star up there is another world," a deep voiced man behind them interrupted her.

The two turned around to see their friend, Terra a few feet away from them.

"Terra," Aqua greeted him.

"Yep," Terra answered. "Hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own."

He walked towards them as he continued. "The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns."

Ventus asked, confused, "What? I don't get it."

"In other words, they're just like you, Ven." Terra said with a smile on his face.

"What does THAT mean?" Ventus asked as he stoop up and walked over to Terra.

"You'll find out some day, I'm sure." Terra answered.

"I wanna know now!" Ven yelled, in a slightly childish manner.

"You're too young to know now," Terra said in an annoyed tone.

"That's discrimination because of age, man," a new voice interrupted them.

The three turned to look behind Terra to see their other friend, Vanitas, walking over to them. Vanitas was around the same height as Ventus, along with the same age at fifteen. Vanitas had spikey, black hair that pointed in all directions, with eyes that could be either orange or gold colored. His outfit consisted of a mostly unzipped black jacket that had the zipper going across his whole torso. The zipper stopped just at the pockets. There was a little triangular shaped insignia on the right of his chest that even he didn't understand. His sleeves weren't completely down, so his forearms were bare, with a wristband with not sharp spikes on it on his left wrist, and another one on his right that was pretty much just a string tied up. He wore a black tank top underneath, with accessories consisting of a bandanna around his neck, and a rectangular shaped pendant going down his chest. His pants were black, with a prominent pocket on the left side, and a belt suspended on the left side, getting lower onto the right side. On the right side, a chain went down as an accessory. As for his shoes, he just had simple slip on black sneakers with white trim on the bottom. His voice was a weird mixture, in a way making it a slightly scratchy mid point voice.

"I knew more than him when I was ten, Terra," Vanitas chuckled, walking over to them. "So don't go all age equals wisdom, man. That's not exactly true. Just ask my uncle Howard."

The trio started laughing just as Vanitas reached them.

"When'd you get here, V?" Ventus asked as he approached his best friend.

"Just about an hour ago." Vanitas answered. "I got a letter from the Master yesterday, and you just know I wasn't gonna miss watching two of my best friends join me in the ranks of Master."

"Oh," Aqua said as she stood up and started walking towards them. "Thanks for reminding me, V. And now it's really good that you're here now."

"I made us good luck charms!" she said as she pulled out four star shaped charms with their common insignia in the center. One was blue, one was green, one was orange, and one was red.

"Here" she said as she tossed the orange to Terra, the green to Ventus, and the red to Vanitas.

"Nice," Vanitas said as he checked his out.

"I get one, too?" Ventus asked, holding his up.

"Of course," Aqua answered as they held their charms out to each other. "One for each of us."

Then she started to explain, "Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star shaped fruit, and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection." She paced away from the boys a little bit, staring down at her charm. "So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to each other." She looked back to the guys. "Technically, I think you're supposed to make them with seashells, but i did the best with what I had."

"Man, that's deep," Vanitas said.

"Oy, sometimes you are such a girl," Terra said in a slightly exasperated tone. Vanitas then hit him in the gut in response.

"Hey," Aqua exclaimed. "What do you mean 'sometimes?'"

During all of this, Ventus started to look worried.

"So this isn't a real good luck charm?" he asked.

"Well," Aqua walked over to them as she answered. "That's yet to be seen. But I did work a little magic on it."

"Really?" Ventus asked. "What?"

Aqua chuckled as she held hers up then answered. "An unbreakable connection." She held hers up to the sky.

"How do you know so much magic?" Vanitas asked. "All i can do is elemental stuff mostly used for fighting."

"Practice" Aqua answered with a laugh.

Eventually they all started laughing, too, their mutual friendship shining through the night.

\------------------

"Well, tomorrow's the exam." Terra said, walking into the empty field. "Anybody wanna spar?"

Ventus immediately summoned his keyblade, exclaiming "I can take ya!"

In no time at all, all four of them were fighting each other one on one, Terra and Ventus, Aqua and Vanitas, Aqua and Ventus, Terra and Aqua, Ventus and Vanitas, and Vanitas and Terra, each one sometimes winning and sometimes losing, not holding back with using whatever powers they felt like on each other, but at the same time not trying to hurt each other too much. Until eventually, they were all standing on opposite sides of the field, getting out of their battle stances.

"Trust me, you guys are ready," Ventus said. "You're gonna clean up at the exam tomorrow."

"He's not wrong." Vanitas added. "You guys have gotten a lot stronger since the last time we've fought. An improvement I am proud of."

"I hope it's that easy," Terra said, as they all started walking into the center of the field.

"It's like the Master said," Aqua said. "Power is born within the heart. When the time is right, you just need to look inside yourself, and you'll find it there," she finished as they all reached the center.

Ventus agreed with a nod,

"Exactly," Vanitas said. "It's when you start to devulge into the deepest parts of your heart, to find what you're looking for, when you can really become a Keyblade Master. It's not about the strength of your mind or your body, it's about the strength of your heart."

Everyone went silent, because they weren't used to Vanitas saying stuff like that.

"Wow, that was deep," Ventus said.

"You're not gonna start saying wise old man stuff on us, are you?" Terra asked. "Like your Uncle Jonas?"

"Shut up," Vanitas laughed, and hit Terra in the shoulder.

Eventually, Ventus ended up standing down by himself next to a lamp, staring at the sky.

"Hey," Terra surprised him. "We're gonna head back."

"Yeah, Ventus asked. "Me, too."

He then ran over to join the others. While they started to walk away, Aqua stayed back at the bench for another second, staring down at the charm in her hands.

"Together," Aqua smiled. "Always."

She then ran to the others as they walked back down the path. While, they were walking, Vanitas started talking to Ventus.

"I recognized that look on your face." he said with a sympathetic look on his face. "You still want to know where you come from, why you can't remember your past. Right?"

Ventus nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Look, man," Vanitas continued. "I care about you, and I'm sure you're getting closer to being able to start figuring this out on your own. So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna talk to the Master. With the right words, we can probably get you to come with me on my next trip to an outside world."

Ventus looked up at him, getting a little excited.

"You really think you can?" he asked.

"I'm sure of it," Vanitas answered. "I mean, I might have to do him a few favors, AND make him think I'll be watching over you the whole time, but I can probably do it."

Ventus then gave Vanitas a side hug as they walked.

"Thanks, V," Ventus said.

"Okay, okay," Vanitas said, clearly uncomfortable. "You know I don't like physical contact."

"I know," Ventus said with a chuckle.

The others continued to laugh, while Vanitas groaned in discomfort.

"That would be the last night we ever spent beneath the same stars."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna have any specific dates set up for when chapters should be expected, because my memory is really crap, with the addition of there being pits and pieces of the story i forget every now and then. So, have expectations for when chapters are added, just be prepared for them. I will mostly be updating this with footage from the Youtube series of the Kingdom Hearts Timeline provided to us by Everglow, which i definitely recommend to Kingdom Hearts fans. Keep your eyes out for another chapter, I promise I'll try to update as much as i can


	2. The Exam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we've got how the Mark of Mastery Exam would include our boy. Plus, Vanitas meets Vanitas

The early morning sun shone through the windows in the grand room. The anxiety was evident in the air. It could be felt in the ground, the walls, the very atmosphere of the entire world. In the middle of the room, Terra and Aqua stood at attention, facing the three stairs, with Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort sitting in two of them. Ventus stood off to the side, with Vanitas next to him. Even though Vanitas was offered to stand up at the stand next to the other Masters, he swore he'd be standing with his best friend. Ventus looked a little nervous at the sight of Master Xehanort, which Vanitas noticed quickly.

"Relax," Vanitas whispered. "He's not gonna hurt anybody while he's here."

"I know," Ventus whispered back. "It's just... there's something about him that scares me."

"I was like that when i first met him," Vanitas whispered. "Remember how I told you about how he tried to recruit me when I was younger?" He looked at Xehanort in mistrust. "Even back then, I was able to sense darkness spikes in people. He acts like a nice guy, but I'm not gonna train under a guy with that much darkness."

"How much did you sense in him?" Ventus asked, curious.

"Enough," Vanitas whispered, looking away as Xehanort looked in their direction with a smug smile on his face.

Xehanort's look made Ventus look down, sad, but once he heard Eraqus' footsteps on the wooden base, he straightened back up.

Eraqus faced Terra and Aqua, and announced, "Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one, but two of the Keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates, but this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy, not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail, or neither."

He paused for a second, then continued, "But I am sure our guest, Master Xehanort..." he turned to look at Xehanort "...did not travel all this way to see our second youngest prospects in years fall short of the mark."

Xehanort nodded at this.

"And possibly not our youngest Master ever," Eraqus said, looking at Vanitas. Vanitas also nodded at this, but then smirked a goofy smile at Ventus when Eraqus looked away. Ventus laughed a muffled laugh at Vanitas.

"I trust you are ready," Eraqus continued to Terra and Aqua.

Ventus and Vanitas quickly looked back when Terra and Aqua answered "Yes."

"Then let the examination begin."

"Here we go," Vanitas whispered.

Eraqus held his Keyblade with both hands, and it flashed with light. He then pointed it at the ceiling, using a spell. Immediately, five orbs of light appeared in front of Terra and Aqua. The two summoned their Keyblades and stood in their battle stances. Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, Xehanort did a little spell of his own, encasing the orbs with darkness. Everyone was surprised and confused, except for Vanitas. He had felt a darkness spike, and looked suspiciously at Xehanort. Xehanort just smiled at him in an innocent "What? Me?" way.

Vanitas didn't focus on it for too long, because Terra and Aqua had rushed in and started attacking the orbs. Unfortunately, one decided to be fun, and fly towards Ventus and Vanitas.

"Ven! V!" the two exclaimed.

The two just summoned their Keyblades, and Ventus slashed at the orb, taking it out with one swipe. Vanitas looked at him, impressed, while Ventus got into his battle stance.

"Don't worry about me," he exclaimed. "You two focus on the exam."

Aqua and Terra stood back to back, surrounded by the orbs of light.

"But, Ven," Aqua exclaimed. "You're in danger here! Go wait in your room."

"No way!" Ventus yelled, defiantly. "I've been looking forward to this, seeing you two become Masters. I'm not gonna miss in now."

"Same here!" Vanitas said, his Keyblade held level with his head. "You guys are my friends, and I want to see you reach this level."

Meanwhile, Terra decided to interject with his opinion.

"He can take care of himself," he told Aqua. "He's been out there training just as hard as us."

"Yeah!" Ventus agreed.

Aqua reluctantly agreed, telling him, "Stay sharp, Ven."

The four of them then went to work taking out the orbs. Their methods went from simple strikes, to elemental spells, special strikes, blast shots, and spectacular finishes. Aqua shot blizzard at one orb. Vanitas shot balls of fire at two other orbs. Terra threw his Keyblade through a different orb. Ventus used wind to throw a few orbs around. Vanitas used his Finish, encasing his Keyblade in fire and slashed through an orb. Aqua used her Finish to smack an orb with balls of energy. Terra used his Finish to smack an orb with a few strong attacks. Ventus used his Finish to attack another orb with many quick attacks. In no time at all, all of the orbs were gone, Ventus and Vanitas were standing back at the side of the room, Terra and Aqua back in the center, facing Eraqus and Xehanort.

"That was unexpected," Eraqus admitted. "But one must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. It was an excellent test, one i chose to let unfold..." Vanitas looked at Ventus with a face that said 'sure he did' sarcastically. "... Which brings us to your next trial."

In no time at all, Terra and Aqua were facing each other, standing fifteen feet apart with their Keyblades drawn.

"Now, Terra and Aqua," Eraqus announced. "The two of you will face each other in combat. Remember, there are no winners, only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed."

While he was saying this, Terra and Aqua got in their battle stances. Vanitas started shaking in anticipation, because he had never seen two Keyblade wielders fight, really fight, each other before.

"Begin!"

Terra and Aqua charged at each other, doing their own attacks, Terra's a little slow, but strong. Aqua's faster, but not as strong. Until Aqua was running towards Terra, his anger started to take control, and Vanitas could feel the darkness before it even surrounded Terra's open hand. Terra looked surprised at his hand until he saw Aqua still charging at him, so he closed his fist, the darkness disappeared, and Terra blocked Aqua's attack. They continued to fight, but the whole time, Vanitas was shocked. He had never felt darkness this strong within Terra before. Where had that come from?

He looked up at Master Xehanort, and saw another smug smile on the old man's face. That's when it occurred to Vanitas that Xehanort must have had something to do with this. Somehow, Xehanort had manipulated the situation, so that Terra's darkness would grow stronger within him. Then, suddenly, Vanitas sensed a third darkness spike within the area. This one as new. Younger, powerful, and for some reason, familiar. He looked around, trying to see if he could find the third darkness, but he couldn't find anything. He knew for a fact that the darkness couldn't be coming from Aqua, Ventus, or Eraqus, because the light in their hearts was too strong. So where was it coming from?

\---------------------

Terra and Aqua stood at attention, facing Eraqus and Xehanort again.

"We have deliberated and reached a decision," Eraqus announced. "Terra, Aqua, you both performed commendably. However, only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery."

Terra looked shocked, Aqua did a quiet surprised gasp, and both Ventus and Vanitas  widened their eyes.

"Terra," Eraqus continued. "You failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check. But there is always next time. That is all." He finished with a slight head bow.

"Aqua, as our newest Keyblade Master, you are entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instruction."

Vanitas stopped listening to Eraqus' speech halfway through when he saw Xehanort walking off on his own. He had a feeling that Xehanort was walking towards that third darkness that he felt earlier. However, he knew he had to go and support his friend. He decided to handle the more important matter first.

Eraqus started to walk in a direction similar to Xehanort, which gave the others the signal they could get out of attention.

"Hey..." Aqua started to say to Terra. Ventus ran up to them.

"Terra," he said. "I'm sorry."

Vanitas patted Terra on the shoulder in condolence.

Terra was looking down in shame, and mumbled "The darkness. Where did it come from?"

While Terra was thinking about this, Vanitas looked toward toward the way Xehanort had went, and saw him go around the corner,. The man had started to go around the stairs. Vanitas was running out of time, so he knew he had to act quick.

"Guys," he announced. "This is upsetting and all, but I've really gotta go to the bathroom. So could I...?"

Aqua gestured for him to go, Terra gave him a small nod, still looking down, and Ventus mouthed at him to go before it got too bad (they had taught themselves how to read lips before Vanitas had done his own Mark of Mastery exam). Vanitas took his hand off of Terra's shoulder, and ran in the direction Xehanort had gone. Once he was sure no one was watching him, he looked down the railing, and saw Xehanort walking down the stairs. Making sure no one could see him, he jumped over the railing, and held onto the ledge, staying there once he heard Xehanort talking to someone.

"What do you make of Ventus?" he heard the old man's gravelly voice.

"He ain't gonna cut it," another voice said.

Vanitas froze, figuring out that this voice belonged to the third darkness he had felt earlier. He quickly processed the voice in his head, sure he had heard it somewhere before. Young, intellectual, somewhere between high and deep. The one part that felt different, this voice had a darker edge to it, to the point where it was familiar, but sounded sinister.

"Somebody's gotta break that loser in," the voice continued.

Vanitas got a little angry when he remembered that these two were discussing his best friend like this.

"Not here you won't," Xehanort said, matter-of-factly. "I have to keep up appearances."

"I know that," the voice said. Then, in a more plotting manner: "He just needs a little incentive to leave home."

Vanitas dropped down onto the stairs as quietly as he could. Looking around the corned at the bottom of the stairs, he could see Xehanort starting to walk towards the next set of stairs with a boy around Ventus and Vanitas' height wearing a red and black bodysuit, with a black glass mask covering his entire head, but with silver metal lining going from his chin, around his head. There was no doubt in Vanitas' mind, this boy was both the third darkness, and Xehanort's apprentice.

'How did Xehanort get an apprentice?' Vanitas thought. Immediately, Vanitas could tell something was up. Once he saw that they had started to go down the other stairs, he came out. However, when he looked down the staircase, they were both gone. He ran down the stairs and looked to his left. The masked boy was standing a few feet away from him, with his back turned to Vanitas.

'Gotcha' Vanitas thought as he walked over to the boy.

"Hey," Vanitas said as he reached the boy. He turned the boy around, and made him face Vanitas. Vanitas tried looking directly into the mask, to see if he could make out the boy's face through the glass, but it was too dark.

"You know, there's such thing as too much eye contact, right?" the boy asked Vanitas, sarcastically.

It still surprised Vanitas how familiar this boy's voice sounded. Like he had heard it before, but can't remember where he heard it.

"Who are you?" Vanitas asked the boy.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out," the boy answered with even more sarcasm.

"I'm not interested in games, OR sarcastic remarks," Vanitas said. "Trust me, I excel at those myself. What i want to know is how Xehanort managed to get himself an apprentice with so much darkness."

"Well, i will admit," the boy said, casually. "I wasn't like this when i started out. Not until the Master showed me the way."

"Don't trust him," Vanitas said, quickly. "He might make it seem like that's the right way, but he's wrong."

"Oh?" they boy asked. "How do you know this?"

"Don't be coy," Vanitas said. "I'm pretty sure the old man's already told you how he tried to recruit me as his apprentice. But you've only heard his side. I turned him down because I could see through his lies. He doesn't care about keeping the balance between the light and the dark. I've seen some of his reports. He thinks that the light has covered up too much of the worlds, and the only way to restore order is to extinguish the light. You know what that could do to the worlds? Trust me, Xehanort is not a good man."

"Right," the boy said. "And Eraqus is better. The way he keeps those secrets about Ventus."

"He's got good reason," Vanitas said, defending his Master.

"Please," the boy said. "You're a Master that he claims to trust, and he still hasn't told you everything."

"I know he's keeping Ven here to protect him from something," Vanitas said. "But Ven't gotten stronger now. I know he can handle himself in the outside world."

"You think that's it?" the boy asked, smugly. "You think he's doing this just because he doesn't want his little boy getting hurt?"

This peaked Vanitas' interest.

"What do you know?" he asked, in a tough manner.

The boy laughed. "You'll find out soon enough. Right now, you have other matters to attend to."

A second later, Vanitas heard the bells ringing. He turned around and looked up in surprise because the bells almost never ring. He turned back around to face the boy in the mask, but he was already gone. Vanitas decided he would have to figure out the mystery behind that boy later, and ran back up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little thing for you guys to know, Vanitas' fighting style is similar to that of his in the game. The slashes, the teleports, the giant balls of fire that follow you, those he can do. However, I'm not gonna use too many of his moves because they wouldn't work with this guy being one of light. This, however means that Dark Vanitas will have those same moves, but the addition of the remaining moves from the game we all know and hate. Plus, I got the idea of Vanitas being able to sense darkness spikes thanks to a fanfiction i found where Roxas got sent back in time to experience all of this with them. He will be able to know when someone in a world is a possible villain by the darkness in their hearts. On top of that, he has his own element he has main control of. While Terra has Earth, Aqua has Water, and Ventus has Wind, Vanitas has great control over the element of fire. Still expect no exact time when chapters will be posted. I keep expecting them to be a while to type, but that has taken me all of two hours. Anyway, I'll try to have the next chapter be up soon. May your hearts be your guiding keys


	3. Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang learns about the Unversed and prepares to leave. Vanitas confronts Eraqus about what the boy in the mask told him

Vanitas ran back into the Great Room as fast as he could once the bells had finished ringing. When he got in there, he saw Aqua still standing in position, with Master Eraqus going into the back of the room, towards the purple light shining. Vanitas knew that that was the "communicator," you could call it, to contact other Masters throughout the worlds. Vanitas ran up to Aqua.

"Hey," he greeted. "What'd I miss?"

Aqua turned to look at him. "Not much."

Then Terra joined up with them.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know." Aqua answered. Then she looked up, asking, "Why isn't Ven here?"

Vanitas used his mental radar to sense that Ventus' light was still up in his room, so he must still be in there. However, he also sensed a familiar darkness in Ventus' room with him. The boy in the mask! What was he still doing here? And why was he talking to Ven?

As Vanitas was going through all of this in his head, he was able to catch a bit of Eraqus' conversation thanks to his good ears.

"Very well, then," he heard his Master saying. "I will send my pupils to investigate." He paused to hear some of what the person was saying, which Vanitas unfortunately couldn't get. "Yes, I understand," Eraqus responded. "Farewell."

The three of them straitened up as Eraqus approached them. They stood facing him in order, from left to right, Vanitas, Terra, and Aqua.

"That was my dear old friend Yen Sid," he started. "As you know, he is Master no more... but he still keeps a close eye on the tides of light and darkness. His council serves as signposts on the road we wielders of the Keyblade must walk." He paused for a second. "All the more reason, then, for concern... for he tells me the Princesses of Heart are in danger. Not only from the forces of darkness, as you may assume... but also from a new threat... one that feeds on negativity. Fledgling emotions that have taken monster form... Yen Sid calls them the 'Unversed.'"

Eraqus looked individually at the three of them, then continued. "As wielders of the Keyblade, you are tasked with striking down any who would upset the balance of light and darkness. The Unversed are no exception. I tried to pass this news on to Master Xehanort, but my repeated attempts to reach him have failed." Vanitas looked relieved at this, while Terra looked surprised. "I doubt there is any connection, and yet... This all troubles me."

"Master Xehanort is gone?" Terra asked.

'Good riddance,' Vanitas thought.

"So here we are," Eraqus continued. "I need you three to get this situation under control. Eliminate the Unversed, and find Master Xehanort."

'Oh, I'll look for him, alright,' Vanitas thought. He started to get the idea in his head, that maybe these 'Unversed' showing up, Xehanort disappearing, and this masked boy showing up... they couldn't be a coincidence. Something odd was going on, and he was going to find out what.

"I have unlocked the Lanes Between," Eraqus continued. "You may use these forbidden pathways to travel between this world and countless others." He looked over to Vanitas. "Just like our resident Master over here."

Vanitas nodded with a smug smile on his face.

Eraqus continued, in a more warning tone. "The darkness looms closer than usual within these places, but your armor will protect you. Lastly, remember that order must be kept. You cannot tell anyone there are worlds. Now go, and fulfill your duty."

"Yes, Master," the three of them responded.

Terra was the first to turn around and start to leave, when Eraqus called out to him.

"Terra," he said, stopping Terra. "Consider this an opportunity. A second chance for you to chance my mind."

"What?" Terra asked, confused.

Eraqus walked over to Terra as he answered. "You must know, I care for you like my own son." He was standing in front of Terra. "If I could have my way, I would name you Master in a second. But, how can I, when you are so obsessed with power? Terra, you mustn't be afraid of losing. Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness." Eraqus put his hand on Terra's shoulder. "You must never forget."

Eraqus took his hand off of Terra's shoulder, and Terra bowed to him.

"Thank you, Master," he said as he straitened back up.

"I swear..." he said, determined. "I will not fail you again."

He turned around and started walking out of the room. Aqua and Vanitas both looked uneasily at him, watching him walk away. Then they turned back towards Eraqus.

"Master," Aqua said. "I'd best be on my way."

Vanitas watched as Aqua started to walk out of the room. At the same time, Ventus ran through the Great Room, going to the staircase. Vanitas grew curious about this, but he knew before he could find out what it was, he had to talk to his Master. He turned back around to look at Eraqus, but he interrupted Vanitas.

"Wait, Aqua," he called out to her.

She started to turn back around to face Eraqus and Vanitas.

"Before you depart," Eraqus began. "I have one other... Well, call it a request, of the utmost priority for both you and Vanitas." He looked at the two of them.

"Yes?" Aqua asked.

"What is it?" Vanitas asked.

Eraqus continued. "I told Terra this could be a second chance to show the Mark of Mastery... and i meant it. However, that flicker of darkness he displayed during the examination... I sense it runs very deep."

"So do I," Vanitas said. "The spikes that i sensed during the test, they're stronger than they looked. And if he keeps feeding into them, they'll only grow."

"Exactly," Eraqus continued. "If he were to... If those powers were to prove too much for him to handle, I want the two of you to bring him back to me at once. It's for his own good. I cannot bear to lose any of you to the darkness."

Aqua looked a little unsure until Eraqus finished, and then she looked determined.

"Of course," she said. "I would never let that happen. I promise you I will bring Terra back. Only this time, you'll see he has what it takes to be a Master."

Aqua walked into the center of the Great Room, and stared at the big stained glass window in the center of the wall.

"He's not as weak as you think," she said before she started walking towards the stairs.

"Master," Vanitas said, once he was sure that Aqua was out of earshot. "There's something I've found out that you need to know."

"What is it?" Eraqus asked.

"While Terra and Aqua were fighting each other," Vanitas began. "After the darkness in Terra's hand disappeared, I sensed darkness spikes coming from a third person."

"A third person?" Eraqus asked, confused.

Vanitas nodded. "Once the test was over, i followed Xehanort, and found him talking to to a young boy in a red and black bodysuit and a glass mask. They were talking about Ven not being ready for something. Xehanort said that the boy wouldn't do something here because he had to keep up appearances. Then the boy said that Ven needed a little incentive to leave home. I confronted the boy, and I tried warning him about Xehanort, but he just asked me if it was really better with you because of how you keep secrets. I asked him what he knew, but he wouldn't tell me. Then the bells rang, and once I turned back around, he was gone."

Vanitas paused for a minute while Eraqus took this all in.

"So," Eraqus said, finally. "What we can take away from this: Xehanort has a black apprentice, who claims to know the truth about how things work around here. Do you know what he could want?"

"Not in the slightest," Vanitas admitted. "But I can't help but think... Master Xehanort disappearing, the Unversed surfacing, and this boy in the mask revealing himself... they all happened around the same time. Either this is one giant coincidence, or maybe..."

"You think they might be connected," Eraqus finished for him.

"You know as well as I do," Vanitas said. "That Xehanort is someone that can't be trusted. You told me how you got those scars on your face." Eraqus rubbed his cheek with one of the scars on in, remembering the day. "Xehanort is bad news, and he can't be trusted. He must be doing this as part of some kind of plan."

Eraqus stayed silent at this.

"You know what that plan is," Vanitas observed. "Don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Eraqus said.

"Master," Vanitas said, growing agitated. "With all due respect, that's bull corn. You go through all of this trouble to keep Ven here even though he trains just as hard as the rest of us, and can handle himself out there, but you still won't have him go to other worlds. This guy in the mask says that there's more to it than you claim. Master, what are you hiding from us?"

Eraqus turned to look at Vanitas.

"You know enough," he answered, sternly.

"Apparently not," Vanitas responded, angrily. "You aren't telling us the truth about all of this. You're keeping secrets, and we don't keep secrets from each other unless we have a good reason."

"Well, this is a very good reason!" Eraqus snapped at him. "If Ventus were to grow strong enough, Xehanort will be able to use him as a part of his plans."

"So you know what the plans are," Vanitas pointed out, smugly. "But you're not gonna tell us what they are. Didn't it occur to you that maybe if you told us what his plans were, maybe Ven could be trained so that we could stop him."

"It doesn't work like that," Eraqus said, sounding sad.

"What do you mean?" Vanitas asked.

It was a second before Eraqus answered him.

"Even if Ventus knew the reason," he began. "Even if he grew strong, enough, even if we tried to stop Xehanort together... Xehanort is resourceful. He would have many other contingency plans that even if Ventus being strong didn't already go along with his original plan, he would have other plans."

"Okay, you kind of lost me there," Vanitas said. "But what is Xehanort trying to do, Master?"

"I am sorry, Vanitas," Eraqus said. "But you can not know the truth yet. I do not doubt you will be able to find out eventually, but you can not know just yet."

Vanitas stayed silent for a bit, before he finally made his decision.

"All right," he begrudgingly said. "But while I'm out there, I'm gonna do everything i can to find out what Xehanort's up to. I can start by hunting down this guy in the mask."

"Yes," Eraqus agreed with him. "He must know something."

\--------------------------------

"Terra!" Ventus yelled as he ran down the stairs.

Terra stopped when he was in the middle of the courtyard. He turned around in confusion to see Ventus stop in front of him, and put his hands on his knees as he was tired. He stood up, and tried to catch his breath. Terra interrupted him by ruffling his hair, like he used to not too long ago.

"It's okay," Terra said with a smile.

Vanitas was at the top of the stairs with Aqua, looking at the gentle display. While Aqua looked a little wary at Terra, Vanitas smiled at two of his best friends saying goodbye.

Terra then proceeded to walk forward a few more steps. Then, he proceeded to make his hand into a fist, and smash it into the armor button on his arm. A bright light then surrounded him, blinding the three others. Once the light wore off, Terra was encased completely in his armor, with his Keyblade drawn.He then used his Keyblade to open a portal into the Lanes Between, then threw his Keyblade into the air. The Keyblade transformed into a Glider in midair. As it came flying back towards Terra, he jumped up, and landed on it. He then proceeded to fly it into the portal.

Ventus watched in awe the entire time. As Terra flew in the portal, he started to look a little sad, which Vanitas noticed immediately. Before he could go comfort his best friend, though, Ventus looked at the armor button attached to his shoulder, and smacked it. As light surrounded him, Aqua and Vanitas both ran towards him. Once the light faded, Ventus was standing in the middle of the field, staring in amazement at the armor he was wearing. After the initial shock wore off, he summoned his Keyblade, and threw it into the air. While it was in the air, it transformed into what looked like a flying skateboard. As his Glider flew towards him, he jumped up in the air, and landed on it.

"Wait! Ven!" Aqua yelled to him as he flew up into the portal.

"Where did HE learn how to do that?" Vanitas asked.

Eraqus caught up to Aqua and Vanitas, looking into the portal that Ventus had just flown into.

"No!" he yelled. "He mustn't!"

He then looked to Aqua and announced, "You have to bring him back!"

"Don't worry, Master!" Aqua said, determined.

She ran forward into the field, and pressed her own armor button, encasing her in light. Once the light died down, she was in her armor with her Keyblade drawn. She threw her Keyblade in the air, and it transformed into a Glider. Once it flew back towards her, she jumped in the air and landed in it. She then proceeded to fly in up and strait into the portal into the Lanes Between.

Vanitas looked back at Eraqus, and saw the man staring at him in confusion.

"Why are you still here?" Eraqus asked him.

"You don't want me to say a word of what we were talking about," Vanitas said. "To any of them, do you?"

"You mustn't," Eraqus answered. "It will only end in disaster."

"All right," Vanitas said. "I won't say a word."

Eraqus nodded at Vanitas in appreciation. What Eraqus didn't see, however, was Vanitas' right hand in his pants' pocket. Had Eraqus known, he would have figured out Vanitas had his fingers crossed while he was promising that.

Vanitas ran forward into the field himself, and reached out his hand. His hand was then encased in light, and from that light, he pulled out a helmet. He put on the helmet, and used the same trick to pull out metal gauntlets. Once the gauntlets were on, he then activated his sneakers, which then transformed into metal boots.

'This has been some day,' Vanitas thought as energy flew out of the boots, and he flew into the portal, preparing to travail the Lanes Between.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point, things are gonna get interesting


	4. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas worries about his friends, and remembers back to a better time

Vanitas flew through the Lanes Between as fast as he could, knowing that if he was gonna figure out this mystery, he would have to act fast. The only problem was, he honestly didn't have a clue on where to start. You'd think he'd be able to use his powers to sense the different darkness spikes within the worlds, but the darkness in the Lanes itself made that difficult. The darkness there managed to range from simple pricks around a corner, to full on spikes that could actually give him headaches. The latter ones were the ones he preferred to ignore.

While he was flying, he couldn't help but to think about his friends, and how worried he was for each of them. For Terra, Vanitas was worried about the darkness that he had felt within him during the exam. He knew it wasn't enough to cause a worrying amount of doubt within one's mind, but he had seen disastrous results of what happens when a good person succumbs to the darkness within them by feeding the fires. It was something that he didn't want to happen to his friend. Furthermore, he was concerned about how trusting Terra was of Master Xehanort. Vanitas knew that Terra was skeptical of his powers of sensing darkness spikes within a person, so his friend shook off his claims of there being so much darkness within Xehanort. However, with how trusting Terra was of the old man, seeing him as a bit of an uncle figure, Vanitas knew that it would be tough for him to convince Terra that Xehanort was not someone to be trusted, even with concrete evidence. But what worried Vanitas most of all about Terra was Xehanort's interest in his friend. The last time Xehanort had visited, he had taken a strong interest in Terra that Vanitas had shook off at the time. However, after what had happened during the test, Vanitas was starting to come to the conclusion that Xehanort had another factor in this big master plan of his, and part of it had to do with the darkness within Terra. The question was, why did Xehanort want Terra to succumb to the darkness?

At the same time, he knew he wouldn't have to worry about Aqua in the slightest. Vanitas knew that she was one of the strongest and skilled candidates to go for the rank of Master in years, and he didn't doubt her skills in a fight. He knew for a fact that Aqua would be okay on her own, and if anyone could help him take down Xehanort, it could be her.

His thoughts then drifted to Ventus, his absolute best friend out of all three of his friends. He could still remember their first interaction together, and smiled underneath his helmet at the memory.

_Not long after Ventus woke up from his coma, he had gone through a recovery process with help from everyone in the castle. Master Eraqus had given him a little tour around the place, but since Ventus was still learning about how to get around, Vanitas had volunteered to be his personal guide, to make sure he didn't get too lost and accidentally hurt himself._

_As part of the process, he ended up unintentionally starting weight training with Terra. It didn't end up going so well, if his arms flailing to his sides like spaghetti was as indication as any. However, Vanitas managed to impress him greatly by lifting more weight than both Terra and Ventus combined, without breaking a single sweat. The surprised faces of Terra and Ventus was well enough to convince Vanitas to do this more often with them._

_Aqua herself used her part of the process to try to help Ventus know he had a place at the castle. From constantly reassuring him about whatever he came across or did, to trying to teach him herself on the right way things worked around here, she did her best to help the poor boy out._

_It seemed like nothing the others did to help Ventus was working, though, as he still remained distant from everyone. That is, until he woke up on a very specific morning._

_Ventus woke up to a loud crash from deep within the castle. After being guided by Vanitas around here for a few weeks now, he was able to deduct that the crash had come from the kitchen._

_He slowly rose out of his bed and left his bedroom to try to investigate the reasoning behind the crash. When he got there, he found a sight that surprised him more than learning that there were other worlds out there._

_He saw Vanitas standing in the kitchen wearing an apron and a chef's hat._

_Vanitas heard commotion coming from the kitchen entryway, and turned around to see Ventus standing there, with a surprised look on his face._

_"Oh," Vanitas said, quickly taking off the hat. "Hey, Ventus, what's up?"_

_Ventus walked forward into the kitchen uncertainly. When he looked around the room, he saw on the counter various ingredients and dishes that he figured were used to prepare the food._

_"What are you doing up this early?" Ventus asked the raven haired boy. "And in the kitchen, no less?"_

_"It's my turn to prepare breakfast," Vanitas answered. "Wait, you never figured that we might be taking turns in the whole 'preparing food' department?"_

_"Not really," Ventus admitted. "I just figured the Master did it all."_

_"Hate to break it to you, buddy," Vanitas said, walking over to his friend. "But the Master can't cook. Seriously, I don't know how he managed to feed himself before Aqua came along with her cooking skills and me with various cookbooks."_

_"You and Aqua do the cooking?" Ventus asked, curious._

_"Yeah, man," Vanitas answered, grabbing frozen bacon out of the cooler. "Why else do you think I would actually wear this apron and that hat?"_

_Ventus smiled as Vanitas gestured to the hat thrown onto the counter near all the ingredients._

_"It really doesn't do anything, though," Vanitas admitted._

_Vanitas started preparing some stuff around the kitchen for cooking breakfast. Ventus didn't really understand most of what the ravenette was doing, but he did take note of when Vanitas picked up an empty pot off of the ground, and threw it in the sink._

_'So that's what woke me up,' Ventus thought._

_"Something on your mind?" Vanitas asked him._

_Ventus hadn't even realized that while he was watching Vanitas do all of this, the dull, empty look had reappeared back on his face._

_"Yeah, I'm good," Ventus lied, poorly._

_Vanitas was able to detect the lie in his blonde counterpart's voice and closed the bacon box before turning around to face him._

_"You know," Vanitas said. "You're a bad liar."_

_He walked forward past Ventus and pulled out two stools, and proceeded to sit on one. He gestured for Ventus to sit on the one next to him, and he begrudgingly complied._

_"You have been a dormant ever since you woke up," Vanitas started. "And while we're trying to help you out, you don't seem that compliant to actually accept it, when it's obvious that you need it. SO you wanna tell me what's up? Or am I gonna have to do annoying jokes that aren't funny until you agree to tell me?"_

_"Um..." Ventus said, uncertainly. "I think I'll go with the first one."_

_"Wise choice," Vanitas agreed. "It's too early for me to think of any good jokes."_

_Ventus chuckled a bit before he decided to come clean._

_"It's not that I don't want to get some help," he started. "It's that I don't know if i can."_

_"What do you mean?" Vanitas asked, his curiosity piqued._

_"It's just..." Ventus looked down. "I feel like I lost something really important, and I can't function without it. It feels like... I can't move on unless I get that thing back."_

_It was then silent in the kitchen for a little while, neither one of them saying anything. Ventus was starting to think maybe he had scared off Vanitas with his claims, when said boy had decided to admit:_

_"My dad abandoned me before I was born."_

_Ventus turned to look at Vanitas in surprise. The ravenette had an elbow on his knee, with his chin in his hand as he stared off in remembrance._

_"While I was growing up, my mom didn't sugarcoat it," Vanitas admitted. "My dad was a deadbeat, that didn't want anything to do with us... so when my mom assured him that she was gonna keep me, he took off without a word. My mom then had me, and she did a good job raising me on her own, with continuous help thanks to my aunts and uncles. And, even though I told her that I didn't care about having a dad or not, I always thought I was missing out on some great big experience in life. It made me question if life was really worth living with that big piece missing. But you know what?"_

_He turned to look at Ventus._

_"I got over it. I didn't need that guy because I already had everything I needed. This thing that you're missing? Maybe you'll get it back, and maybe you won't. Right now, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you're here, now, and we all want to help you out."_

_Ventus was silent for a really long time after Vanitas finished his speech. When he finally decided to speak again, he was curious._

_"How come..." he started. "Out of everyone here, it seems like you're the most eager for me to get better?"_

_Vanitas smiled smugly._

_"Because I want a friend closer to my age," he admitted. "I mean, Terra and Aqua, they're great to hang out with, and their maturity can help prepare for the future and stuff. But sometimes, I would just like to have someone who can understand how weird it can be to be the youngest here."_

_Ventus chuckled a bit at that._

_"All right," he admitted. "You've sold me."_

_"Really?" Vanitas asked, surprised._

_"Yeah," Ventus said, cheerfully. "I mean, you've been here for a while, and you're doing okay, so it can't be all bad here. And, this whole 'Keyblade Master' thing sounds like it might be interesting, so I'm gonna try to give it a go."_

_"All right!" Vanitas said, cheerfully. "Now that's what I'm talking about."_

_When he saw the smile on Ventus' face, Vanitas was sure that it was okay to stand up and continue trying to cook up breakfast._

_"Hey, Vanitas?"_

_He turned around to see Ventus standing there._

_"Thanks for that." He smiled. "I really needed it."_

_Vanitas patted Ventus on the shoulder._

_"No problem, buddy," Vanitas chuckled. "Oh, and while we're on the matter... Call me V."_

_"'V'?" Ventus asked._

_"Yeah," Vanitas admitted. "I mean, I like my name and all, but you gotta admit, it can be a bit of a mouthful sometimes. So, occasionally, I'd like for people to call me V."_

_Ventus considered that for a bit, before he came to a conclusion._

_"Okay," he said. "In that case, call me 'Ven.'"_

_Vanitas smiled._

_"Sounds like a plan... Ven."_

_"Same to you... V."_

_They both laughed a bit._

_"You know something?" Vanitas asked in a weird voice. "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."_

_"Huh?" Venus asked, confused._

_"Eh, it's just something from a movie my Uncle Howard watched a lot," Vanitas ended._

_The two of them proceeded to laugh as Vanitas opened a box of bacon._

It was after their talk that Ventus became more interested in participating with training and stuff, which eventually led to him, Vanitas, Terra, and Aqua becoming best friends.

'All just because I finally told someone that story,' Vanitas thought with a smile. 'I guess there is such thing as the good coming out of the bad.'

While he was flying, reminding himself of a comic book character from a world he's visited with his boots and gauntlets, Vanitas worried about what plans Xehanort might have for Ventus. Ventus had become like a brother to Vanitas, and he didn't want anything bad to happen to him. From what he had gathered, the guy in the mask wanted to do something with Ventus that Vanitas was pretty sure wouldn't be a pleasant experience. Vanitas was determined, though, that he would find the guy in the mask and take him down.

* * *

 

Eventually, after a good amount of flying, he managed to make his way to a world that had a pretty big castle on it. The castle itself seemed fine, but the obscene amount of thorned vines around the bottom of the world wasn't exactly reassuring to Vanitas. Determined to make sure that the notable balance of light and darkness was kept on this world, Vanitas flew towards it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a heads up for later moments in this series, when we end up at moments where Good Vanitas and Dark Vanitas are in the same room after the reveal, our Vanitas will be referred to as V as to avoid major confusion. Also, can anyone tell me how to get the end notes from chapter 1 to stop leaking into the notes for other chapters? Or is that just something that can't be undone?


	5. Exploring Worlds: Enchanted Dominion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas' excursions throughout the worlds

In the middle of a slightly deserted bridge, a portal opened from the Lanes Between. Through the portal walked Vanitas, his helmet, gloves, and boots disappearing into the light as he walked down the bridge. He stopped, and took a second to look at the castle looming in front of him.

'The darkness spikes,' Vanitas thought. 'There are two. One is kind of powerful, and the other is even greater.'

After a little while of concentrating, he was able to conclude that one of the darkness spikes was from Terra. Why was Terra using the darkness? After looking around on the bridge to see if there was anyone else around, Vanitas started running towards the castle doors. He rushed as quickly as he could through the grand hall, up a staircase, and through a hallway until he stopped in front of a doorway. He could sense darkness on the other side of these doors. Vanitas opened the doors to witness something that really surprised him.

Terra was standing in front of a bed, with a blonde woman sleeping in it. He held his Keyblade over the woman, light glowing on it's end. Behind him stood a woman in black and purple, with horns on her head, and holding a wooden staff with a green orb on top. Vanitas turned back at Terra to see that his eyes were glazed over. He gasped as he realized what was wrong with Terra.

Meanwhile, the light had faded from Terra's Keyblade, and in response, another light rose out from the blonde woman's chest, and floated over into the hands of the woman in black, who cackled with glee. With that laugh, Vanitas remembered who this woman was from the legends he heard.

"Here is is," Maleficent said. "Just what I've waited for."

While she said this, the light that Vanitas figured was a heart was suddenly engulfed in fire. The glaze over Terra's eyes disappeared. Maleficent turned away from him while he was coming to his senses.

"To think that all he spoke of was and will be true." Maleficent said, as she held the heart up in the air.

Vanitas chose this moment to walk completely in the room, and up to Terra. Terra, meanwhile, took his hand off of his forehead, realizing that something was off.

"What?" Terra asked, looking at his hands. "How did I..."

Then he looked at the woman in the bed, gasping at the realization of what he had done. Then he turned to look at Maleficent.

"What did I do?" he asked her. Then, to be more precise, "What did YOU do?"

"You speak as if I pulled some invisible strings," Maleficent said. "You couldn't be further from the truth, child."

"She's lying," Vanitas announced. The two then turned to look at the ravenette. "I could sense it through the darkness. That's exactly what she did. She used the darkness inside of you to control you. She made you do this," he ended, throwing a scornful look at the witch.

Maleficent shrugged. "Well, in a way." She turned back to Terra, "I simply whispered to the darkness you already held inside."

Vanitas looked at Terra, as he turned back to look at the blonde woman.

"How could I do this?" he asked aloud, regretfully.

"Terra," Vanitas said in a comforting voice. "You didn't really."

Terra looked at Vanitas, and Vanitas could see in his eyes that Terra didn't really believe him. Terra then looked back at the woman.

"Ven!" he suddenly yelled, surprising Vanitas.

"Huh?" Vanitas asked, confused.

"Yes," Maleficent said, towards over to the two, but only a few feet. "Now, you want to know where Xehanort went."

Vanitas' heart started racing. This witch had been in contact with Xehanort? He knew enough from the tales he's heard about this woman that if she teamed up with Xehanort, no worlds would be safe.

"Well, that I cannot answer."

Vanitas breathed a sigh of relief.

"He disappeared into the darkness." she continued in the mysterious sounding voice that Vanitas didn't understand. "But now I know the Keyblade is necessary to gather hearts."

"Join me," Maleficent said, more forcefully. "Collect six more hearts of pure light. Then we will rule all the worlds together." She spread her arms out to form a U.

"Not a chance," Vanitas said, snarkily.

"You seem to be mixed up," Terra agreed. "I'm a peacekeeper, not a tyrant!"

With this, Terra summoned his Keyblade and held it at his side. Vanitas joined in, summoned his Keyblade and held it above his head.

"Time to show you how it's done, witch," Vanitas said.

Suddenly, a crash reverberated  throughout the entire castle. This knocked Terra forward. Vanitas looked up in confusion, and once Terra recovered, he did as well.

"Hmph." Maleficent huffed. "For a peacekeeper, you're off to an exceptionally poor start. Remember this: the darkness in your heart cannot be held back by force or strength. Now... my work here is done, as is yours. Wasn't there someone you needed to chase?"

Maleficent started to to disappear in a flash of green fire, and Terra rushed forward.

"Wait," he yelled. He swung with his Keyblade to attack Maleficent, but she had already disappeared, with a really long evil cackle.

Suddenly, another rumble reverberated, however, the two were more prepared this time, so Terra didn't fall forward.

"The Unversed!" he announced. "They're gonna bring down the castle. We have to do something!"

Terra turned towards the doorway, and ran outside.

"This is gonna be fun," Vanitas muttered to himself as he ran after Terra.

* * *

 

The two Keyblade wielders ran down the stairs, towards a giant Unversed standing in the middle of the Grand Room. The Unversed looked pretty much like a living spinning wheel.

"Oddly, enough," Vanitas said. "This isn't the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

"What's the weirdest?" Terra asked.

"I'll tell you later," Vanitas said as they got into their battle stances.

The two didn't hesitate to start. Terra slid towards the Unversed, striking upwards at it.

"Go!" Vanitas yelled as he launched a large fireball at the Unversed. It then split into three smaller fireballs, that all hit the Unversed right on the head.

Terra slid away after he did the strike, just as the Unversed then did a giant spin attack. Once he was out of range of its attack, Terra threw his Keyblade at the Unversed. It struck, and flew back into his hand.

Vanitas then jumped up into the air, higher than the Unversed was. He then started to plummet, but used the momentum to stab the Unversed in the head with his Keyblade. He landed back on the ground with a back flip.

Terra then proceeded to do a slash at the Unversed that included a front flip. The Unversed suddenly had Terra captured in a ray coming from the prick point on its arm, but Vanitas quickly dispatched of it with a blast from his Keyblade.

Vanitas blasted a spell of ice towards the Unversed, but the Unversed then proceeded to throw the spinning wheel attached to its side at Vanitas. Vanitas ducked as quickly as he could, did a dodge roll over to the Unversed, then did a side slash at its body.

Terra then summoned some energy, and orange light was suddenly around him. Vanitas remembered that this was Terra's command style, Critical Impact. Terra then did a series of strong, forceful attacks against the Unversed, determined to get as many attacks on it as possible before it wore off. He managed, and got in more than a few attacks before he finished it, jumping up, and slamming his Keyblade into the ground, the impact harming the Unversed.

The Unversed then Jumped up into the air, and slammed down to the ground. Vanitas and Terra almost ran out of time jumping up into the air to avoid the impact of the slam.

Vanitas and Terra then looked at each other, and a look of understanding passed between each other. They both simultaneously fired blasts from their Keyblades, and they merged together to form a bigger beam. The beam then hit the Unversed, and it's entire body was then surrounded in light, which then covered up the entire Grand Hall. Once the light cleared, the Unversed was gone.

The two Keyblade wielders then walked over to each other, dispersing their Keyblades in the process.

"And that's how you fight the enemies made of darkness," Vanitas smirked. "Nice job, Terra."

"Thanks, V," Terra said, looking troubled.

"Something wrong?" Vanitas asked.

Terra paused before he answered. "Even if Maleficent was using the darkness within me to control me... It was still me that used the Keyblade to release Princess Aurora's heart. If I could do that with the darkness, then how far could I go to--"

"Terra," Vanitas said. "I checked. A powerful light lives within you. And people like us, people this strong with the light, we don't have the power to steal hearts. Trust me, I've been looking into  this for years now to make sure I don't do it by accident. That was all Maleficent. As long as you don't feed into too much of your darkness, you'll be okay."

Terra looked down at his feet in thought. Then he looked back at Vanitas with a smile.

"Thanks, V," he said. "You're a good friend."

"I know," Vanitas said, jokingly.

"Let's get going," Terra said, as he turned to the front doors, and started walking towards them.

Vanitas was about to follow his friend, but then he paused. He could sense a familiar darkness spike high in the castle. Without hesitation, he ran towards the stairs, up them, through the hallway, into Aurora's room, and through a door he hadn't noticed the first time he was here. He went up the stairs, but stopped himself before going through another doorway. He could hear the source of the familiar darkness on the other side.

"Seven pure hearts," he heard Maleficent say. "Each completely void of darkness..."

She paused for a second before continuing.

"Such a search may take some time."

Vanitas heard flames roaring, and suddenly the darkness spikes were gone. He walked into the room, and looked out the window, to see Terra running down the bridge a very long way down. Something odd was going on. If Xehanort really made contact with the old witch, how much had he told her? Why did he tell it to her? So many more questions all adding up to the biggest one: What was Xehanort after? Obviously it had to do with seven pure hearts filled with light. Ventus had a pure heart filled with light, so he fit the criteria, but Vanitas had a feeling that Xehanort had a different use for him than these seven. All this did was fuel Vanitas' determination that he had to stop Xehanort, and fast. He summoned his Keyblade and opened a portal on the other side of the room. He summoned his armor, and flew into the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured it out


	6. Exploring Worlds: Dwarf Woodlands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More crossover action between our boy and everyone's favorite wind elementalist (Is that the right word?)

Vanitas didn't have to travel through the Lanes Between for too long before he found his way to a new world. After just a few minutes of flying, he came face to face with a smaller world, that had lots of grassy plains with flowers around the middle region, a cabin on the top, and dark woods on the bottom.

' _The most balanced world I've seen in years_ ,' Vanitas thought. Never before had Vanitas seen a world with a more perfect balance between light and dark.

Figuring it wouldn't kill him to check it out, Vanitas flew towards the world.

* * *

 

Walking down a well worn pathway, Vanitas took in the surroundings of the world he was now in. It was beautiful, he had to give it that. Back home, he had never seen butterflies, even during the spring. Here, they were plentiful, and Vanitas could see that they were pretty beautiful.

However, his thoughts didn't remain on the butterflies for too long, as he had just come along to something that surprised him. Within the middle of the woods was a shack, one that looked like it could be a good place to take a nap in. But it wasn't the shack that surprised him, no. It was the blonde boy about his age crouched over in front of the shack to look into one of it's "windows." He had caught up with Ventus.

"Hey!" Vanitas yelled. His best friend then straightened up quickly in surprise and turned around to face him. "You know, out of all the worlds that we could possibly find, you walked right into this one."

Ventus looked confused.

"What?" he asked.

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted as he walked over to Ventus. "Reference to some old movie my grandparents like."

"Huh," Ventus said, looking nervously at Vanitas.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Aren't you here under orders?" Ventus asked. "The Master sent you here to bring me back home?"

"Me and Aqua, yeah," Vanitas agreed. Then he leaned in a bit. "But I forgot to mention to him that I suck at following orders."

Ventus laughed, a little relieved.

"So you're not gonna take me home?" he asked, more cheerful.

"Hey, I told you the other night that I was gonna get his permission to take you to another world," Vanitas explained. "This might not have been the way I expected  it to happen, but he, if there's one thing my mom taught me, it's to make a good thing out of a bad situation."

Ventus laughed and pumped his fists in the air.

"Sweet," he said. "So what do we do now?"

Vanitas looked around the area. There was the shack on his left, and on his right was another path crossing over a small bridge leading into a darker forest.

"Right now," he explained. "I'm looking out for people who could possibly be interrupting the balance between the light and darkness, and take out the Unversed."

"Okay," Ventus nodded. "Seems easy enough."

"Thing is, though," Vanitas continued. "Master Xehanort also disappeared after the exam, so The Master wants us to look for him at the same time."

"But you think there's something sinister going on with the old man?" Ventus asked.

"If there's one thing the past and my great uncle Isaac has taught me," Vanitas explained. "It's to never trust old people."

Ventus nodded, somewhat understanding.

"So what do we-"

Suddenly, a loud scream caused the two to jump and look around in curiosity. Until they settled on the forest.

"There!" Ventus exclaimed.

The two ran down the path, into the forest. Surprisingly, they didn't encounter much while running through the forest. Up until they ran into a woman on her knees, crying near the exit of the woods. The friends walked over to her.

"What's wrong?" Ventus asked.

"Is something the matter?" Vanitas followed up.

Through tears. the woman answered in a really high pitched voice: "These horrible trees- they tried to grab me."

Ventus leaned down with a smile on his face, and offered her his hand. She looked up slightly at the boys.

"Ah, it's okay." he said. "You were probably just seeing things. It happens to all of us when we're afraid."

"Yeah," Vanitas added. "Unfortunately, in the case of my Great Uncle Horace, it doesn't exactly happen when he's afraid."

The two boys then shared a small laugh, which the woman joined in on as she took Ventus' hand. He helped the woman stand up.

"Oh, thank you," she said. "I feel quite better now. I'm sure I'll get along, somehow."

She then looked worried. "But... I do need a place to sleep at night. Would you know anywhere I might?"

Vanitas smiled. "You're in luck."

"We saw a house just up ahead," Ventus agreed. "Come on, we'll take you there."

Vanitas then cleared his throat, and looked at Ventus expectantly. Ventus looked at him in confusion, but his face perked back up when he realized what Vanitas meant.

"Oh, I'm Ventus," Ventus said. "And this is Vanitas."

"Although," Vanitas continued. "We go by 'Ven' and 'V' for short."

The woman clasped her hands together. "Thank you, Ven and V. My name's Snow White."

"Great," Ventus said. He then turned back in the direction towards the house. "Let's get going."

It took a little effort to guide Snow White through the woods, between having to take out the Unversed, and what with the trees actually coming to life and trying to grab her. Ventus was visibly surprised, but Vanitas wasn't surprised at all. He had seen even weirder before.

After a short run back through the entrance to the woods, the three arrived back at the cottage. The two boys made sure Snow White was safe before they headed outside to scout out for more of the Unversed, just in case. They didn't really find anything, so they just struck up a conversation.

"So what did the guy in the mask say to you?" Vanitas asked, suddenly.

Ventus looked at his friend in surprise.

"How did..."

"I ran into him after the Exam ended," Vanitas said. "And after he disappeared, I could sense his darkness coming from your room, with you. So what'd he say?"

Ventus paused a bit before he answered, "He told me that Terra was leaving, and by the time i catch up, he'll be a different person."

Vanitas thought about Terra back in Enchanted Dominion, and how the darkness in his heart made his body steal Aurora's heart. He knew from experience that when the darkness was in someone's heart in that kind of way, it would be tough, nearly impossible to resist the temptation, even if they weren't using their free will. Terra would need to learn how to channel the darkness within him if he didn't want to be consumed. And Vanitas knew that with Xehanort trying to influence Terra's thoughts, then it wouldn't exactly be easy for Terra to do this on his own.

"He's trying to psyche you out," Vanitas explained. "These kinds of people, they like to speak in riddles, so that you don't understand completely what you mean. You don't want what they say to get under your skin too much. From what I've seen, if you try to interpret a prophecy..." He looked Ventus in the eye, his face the most serious it could get.  "... it gets people killed."

Ventus looked at Vanitas in amazement, then slowly nodded.

"Right," he said. "You're a lot smarter than me, so I should listen to your words of wisdom. What I can never understand is how you know SO much more than me when we're the same age."

"I'm older than I look," Vanitas answered simply.

"I thought you were only fifteen?" Ventus asked.

"I am," Vanitas said. "I've just had a lot more training than you have."

The two then laughed as they started to walk back towards the cottage.

The two walked in, and Vanitas froze, and stared in surprise at the scene before him. Snow White was awake in the middle of the kitchen, with seven little men gathered around her. Admittedly, not the strangest sight he had ever seen, but still one that surprised him, mostly because he wasn't expecting it.

Unfortunately for Ventus, he had walked in, still looking back at the door, not noticing the extravaganza.

"The coast is clear!" he announced to the cottage. "Not a monster in sight- Huh!"

The last part was because he had just noticed the dwarves. They turned to look at him, and they didn't look too happy to see him.

"Couldn't stay away, couldja?" a noticeably angry one snapped at Ventus. "An' who invited you in, ya rotten thief?"

Vanitas was a little surprised at the dwarves reaction to seeing his friend. And he was especially surprised at the dwarves claiming Ventus as a thief, as Ven was the nicest guy he knew. However, before Vanitas could interject his thoughts, he heard the angry dwarf speaking again.

"And why'd you bring your spiv, sardonic looking, tosser partner?"

Vanitas got mad.

"What'd you call me?"

"Oh, no," Snow White interjected. "They're not thieves. They rescued me."

A dwarf wearing glasses said: "You fussn't be mooled- uh, mustn't be fooled by him, princess."

Angry Dwarf then exclaimed, "Just go on an' git!"

Snow White clasped her hands together. "Please don't send them away. You see, they helped me when I was lost, and oh, so very frightened."

"What happened?" Ventus asked as he and Vanitas walked forward, closer to the group.

"Yeah, you must have been through a lot," Vanitas agreed.

The entire group of dwarves then turned back to look at her.

Snow White started to explain, "Well, I was picking flowers by the wood, and there was a stranger there. He had a word, but it was like a key- and then these monsters came and-"

She paused, remembering how scared she felt.

"It's okay," Vanitas said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You're safe now."

She nodded her thanks, while Ventus thought something over.

"A sword like a key..." he muttered. Then he realized: "Terra!"

Smart Dwarf then asked, "Ya mean this stranger saw ya and set his horde of evil demons after ya?"

"What?" Vanitas asked in disbelief.

"Terra would never do that!" Ventus exclaimed.

The group then turned back to look at Ventus.

"Oh, of course," Snow White said. "I'm sure he wouldn't. Not if he's someone who's your friend."

"I've seen it, those things can't even be controlled," Vanitas explained. "So that'd be pretty impossible."

Smart Dwarf then exclaimed, "Princess!"

The boys started to back up as he was starting to sound a little hostile towards them.

"You trustn't be so musting- er, trusting."

Angry Dwarf then yelled, "They're a-lyin'! Mark my words."

This angered the two.

"We'll prove it!" Ventus snapped.

"Just you watch!" Vanitas agreed. The two then ran out of the cottage and back into the woods.

Unfortunately, once they were in the woods, they encountered a giant Unversed. It had the design of a tree, with little barbed roots jutting out at the bottom as legs, big clumps of leaves on the top of the branches, and on the bottom of the branches hung little canisters that Vanitas was sure contained poison.

The two then summoned their Keyblades, with Ventus exclaiming, "Back off!"

The two ran forward a little, Ventus stopping so he could slide in and slash upwards at the Unversed. Vanitas stood a few feet away, and shot a fireball at the monster, which exploded on impact. Ventus ran around it for a bit before he just started to attack with a simple combo. Unfortunately, the Unversed knocked him back before he could finish his combo. A branch then hit, Vanitas in the stomach, and he leaned forward a bit before he froze.

"Nope!" Vanitas exclaimed as the real him teleported behind the Unversed, and did a side slash in the air. The image of himself faded a second later.

Ventus then charged in again, trying again at his combo. He succeeded, and suddenly, he was surrounded in green light. He then started to attack with his combo again, this time his attacks were much quicker. The Unversed then knocked Ventus back through the air, but he quickly recovered and threw his Keyblade at it like a boomerang. His Keyblade made contact, then flew back into his hand.

Vanitas then rushed forward, doing a downward slash with his Keyblade, and immediately followed it up with an upwards slash. Ventus then did a finishing move, consisting of even more fast slashes, and ending with a slash that sent a surge of energy into the Unversed. This caused the monster to get knocked out, falling down onto the ground in a daze. Vanitas used this as an excuse to jump up into the air, and send a surge of lightning from his hand, straight into the Unversed's face.

Ventus then threw his Keyblade straight at the Unversed like a boomerang again, and as it flew back into his hand, a bright light originated from the Unversed, and started to cover the area. Vanitas assumed that this is what people would call a "final blow." He hadn't noticed it before when he defeated the spinning wheel Unversed with Terra. He'd have to watch out for it the next time he defeated a giant Unversed.

The two then ran out of the opposite exit to the woods, entering a field full of flowers, Ventus' Keyblade still in his hand. They stopped at the end of the path leading into the field.

"Terra!" Ventus yelled into the empty field, hearing his own echo.

He got no response from the empty field.

"I hate to say it," Vanitas said. "But I don't think he's here anymore."

Ventus looked down in defeat.

"Aww." he whined in a slightly childish tone, looking down at the ground.

suddenly, an apple rolled into his line of sight, surprising him. He switched the hand his Keyblade was in, and picked up the apple in confusion. Vanitas looked at it for a second, then looked around for the possible source of the apple. Ventus did the same, quickly noticing an old woman in dark robes carrying a fruit basket walking a few feet away from them.

Ventus approached her with Vanitas behind him, wary of the woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Ventus called out. "You dropped this."

She turned to look at the two with a muffled "Eh?"

Ventus walked over to her and held out the apple for her.

"Oh, why thank you, my pet," the woman said as she took the apple. Ventus switched his Keyblade back to his right hand. The old woman continued speaking as she turned back around and placed the apple in the basket. "To tell the truth, I really don't know what I would have done without that."

Vanitas heard her laugh a sinister laugh, and started to grow nervous.

"Ven," Vanitas said, grabbing his friend's arm. "We should go."

Before they could, though, the old lady piped up.

"Haven't I seen that sword before?"

Ventus answered, happily, "Terra has one. You know Terra?"

"Oh, yes, yes..." the old woman answered. Vanitas could tell by the tone in her voice that she was about to start sounding a little aggravated. "That ruffian pointed one of those at me, asking about some 'Xehanort'- My poor heart nearly stopped."

While she was saying this, both the boys then bore expressions of shock and confusion. Ventus lifted his Keyblade hilt up towards his face, staring at it. Vanitas, however, started thinking about the possibilities that this meant. Had Terra started to use the darkness within him to force his way through the worlds to find Xehanort? Or had someone used the darkness within him to threaten this old lady? Then Vanitas did a once over for this particular old lady, and then he remembered something.

"That doesn't sound like him at all..." Ventus said, not aware he was still holding up his Keyblade. "Ma'am, where did Terra go?"

"I'm sure I have no idea..." the old lady answered. Then she continued in a more, helpless old lady kind of voice. "Must you all menace a poor granny so?"

Ventus was surprised, and looked at his Keyblade, then back to the old lady. "What? No, I was just..."

Before he could finish, the old lady turned back around and started walking away from the boys.

Ventus looked down, asking, "Terra, what did you do?"

Vanitas looked at him.

"Hey," he said to his friend. "Remember what we talked about earlier..."

Ventus looked up at him in confusion.

"Never trust old people."

Vanitas then looked back to where they last saw the old lady.

"Especially not old people like that."

"What?" Ventus asked, confused. "Why would you say that about..."

He stopped himself when he saw the look on Vanitas' face as the ravenette stared at the spot. It was in that moment that he realized something.

"How much darkness did you sense in her?" Ventus asked.

"More than you would expect for a 'helpless old granny,'" Vanitas answered.

Ventus then turned to look where Vanitas was staring.

"Should we go after her?" he asked.

Vanitas considered it for a second before he decided, "No."

Ventus looked confused as Vanitas crossed his arms.

"When it comes to the affairs of other worlds," Vanitas explained. "You have to know when the right moment to intervene is. And when the right moment to step away is."

He looked at Ventus.

"We've done enough intervening," Vanitas said, uncrossing his arms. "Now's the time we should leave."

Ventus looked upset at this, but nodded along.

"Don't worry," Vanitas said, more upbeat. "We'll make sure we come back for a quick visit before we have to go back home."

Ventus grinned. "Thanks, V."

Vanitas then summoned his Keyblade, and opened a portal into the Lanes Between. Both flew in in their armor, Ventus on his board, Vanitas with his boots.

* * *

 

While they were flying together, Vanitas felt a darkness spike particularly stronger than some of the usual ones he felt in the Lanes. Not wanting to worry Ventus, Vanitas flew away while his friend wasn't looking, determined to find the source of this spike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long. I got III, and it took me this long to finish it. SO worth the wait!


	7. The Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas runs into unfortunate company in a place you wouldn't expect it... or maybe you would

Vanitas landed on a world with a giant castle visible from the Lanes Between. He figured that the castle had to be important, as it made up most of the world's image in the Lanes, so he made a beeline for it.

As he entered a gateway, Vanitas could see all the way past a courtyard with a fountain, up a big pair of stairs, Terra. The ravenette smiled as he watched his friend escort a blonde woman in a silver dress into the castle doors. This helped prove to Vanitas that he didn't have to worry about his friend too much.

He entered the courtyard, completely oblivious to someone hiding behind a tree on the opposite end, watching him.

'Hmm,' the figure thought. 'It took him more time than I expected for him to follow his friend here. Maybe I'll give him a little test.'

The figure snapped his fingers, and faded into the darkness.

Vanitas'  head perked up when he heard a snap, and looked in the direction it originated from. He used his sensing abilities to see if anyone was behind that tree. No one was there, but he could sense faint traces of darkness there. The slight traces were familiar, but before he could figure it out, he heard a giant thump behind him.

Turning slowly, Vanitas first used his peripheral vision to see an Unversed looming over him more than a few feet. The Unversed was dressed in a purple and black military uniform that he figured was normal here. Even the boots were in better condition than Vanitas' sneakers. (Internally, Vanitas wondered why one of these things would even need boots, considering some of them don't have feet, and some are animals.) The hat it wore was circular, similar to a hat he remembered seeing in old cartoons as a kid. In each of the monster's hands was a large, jagged scimitar that was about the size of Vanitas.

"Wow," Vanitas said, sounding impressed. "If I were an inexperienced Keyblade trainee, I'd probably be scared. Unfortunately for you..."

He summoned his Keyblade and stood in his battle stance.

"... I'm a freaking Keyblade Master," he finished, smoothly.

The Unversed slashed both of it's scimitars at Vanitas at once, and when they made contact, he appeared to be hurt, Up until he froze completely.

"Nope!" Vanitas exclaimed as he teleported behind the Unversed and did a downward slash. The image of him the Unversed slashed at dissipated. 

Vanitas backed up as the Unversed turned around and slashed at him. Unfortunately, then it brought it's scimitars together to make an X, and from the intersection blasted a dark orb that knocked Vanitas back, right into the gates. He made his pain audible as he hit the gates, then fell face first onto the ground.

Vanitas got on all fours and looked up at the Unversed.

"Is that all you got?" Vanitas asked, angrily.

The Unversed made a side slash at Vanitas, and he jumped up. He landed on the scimitar, then jumped up towards the monster's head, and did a full combo attack on the Unversed. Side slashes, forward slashes, a slash where he did a roll in the air, and ending with him doing a swipe angled up with his Keyblade encased and extended with fire. He fell back to the ground, landed on his feet, and faced the Unversed.

The monster now looked slightly angry, turning towards Vanitas and did a giant downward stab. Vanitas jumped back, and started firing orbs of energy encased in fire at the Unversed, smirking a little when each one made contact.

Then, the Unversed started doing it's own variation of a combo, mostly doing side and downwards slashes towards Vanitas. The ravenette ran in the opposite direction, Keyblade at his side, trying to stay away from the combo. He jumped into the casing in the center, walking ankle deep through the water (not missing the irony). The Unversed finished off its combo and started to run after Vanitas. Vanitas smirked, as it was falling for his plan.

Vanitas reached the end of the barrier, stepped onto it, and jumped in the air, doing a giant back flip. He came up behind the Unversed, and raised his Keyblade over his head. Before the Unversed could react, Vanitas brought down his Keyblade on it's head in a slash that he made sure he used a good amount of strength in. When the Keyblade made contact with the monster this time, light formed a little halo, originating in a bright crack in its head, similar to what Vanitas saw happen to the tree Unversed back when he was with Ventus.

Vanitas landed on his feet in the fountain as the light began to engulf the Unversed, completely covering it within seconds. Once the light faded, Vanitas stood alone in the middle of the encasing filled with water.

"All right," Vanitas said to himself. "No way this could be a coincidence. Someone snaps their fingers, and all of a sudden a giant Unversed fights me? I'd have to be brain dead to miss those signs."

Suddenly, Vanitas felt a very strong darkness spike coming from behind him. Vanitas recognized the darkness, and closed his eyes with a smirk.

"That took you more time than I expected," the boy in the mask announced to him. "Really, a Master of your caliber, I figured you would do it in less time."

"Well, I'm not much for speed," Vanitas said as he looked back at the boy, smile still on his face. "You want speed, have Ven fight it. You want strength, have Terra fight it. You want divination, You have Aqua fight it." His smile grew to a cocky level. "You want someone to fight with skill and determination, you have me do it."

The boy did a small chuckle as he walked into the casing with Vanitas.

"Well," the boy said. "I probably should have sent an even bigger one than that, but I'm not good at doing really giant ones."

"Right," Vanitas said, sarcastically. "And you could just make the Unversed appear wherever you want."

"Actually..." the boy started.

The boy raised his arms, and darkness surrounded him. He stuck out his hands on either side of himself, and the darkness flew out, forming on the ground to make some of the little blue, really common form of Unversed. Vanitas' jaw dropped, as this was something he really had never encountered before. The Unversed then dissipated back into darkness, flying back into the boy's hands.

"... I do."

"What in the world..." Vanitas said to himself, still in shock. The Unversed came from him?  _All_ of the Unversed originated from this teenage boy filled with darkness? How was this possible?

"This is why you should just leave this situation the way it is while you still have a chance," the boy said. "You don't have a role in the upcoming plans. You could just leave now unscathed, and nothing will happen to you."

Vanitas listened to every word the boy said. A kid with this much visible evil in him was actually offering a salvation to someone, let alone him? Vanitas thought over what this would mean if he actually went along with what this boy was offering him. If he just left, then nothing bad would happen to him... but it would also mean that his friends would be left alone against people that could use darkness to seriously hurt them. Vanitas didn't even need to consider this guy's offer. It there was something he could do to stop that from happening to his friends, then he was gonna do it. These guys weren't gonna hurt his friends.

"No thanks," Vanitas said, raising his Keyblade. "What's gonna happen today is, I'm taking you with me back to my Master, where you're gonna tell us everything you know."

The Boy then started laughing a strong, wicked laugh that Vanitas was  _sure_ he had heard somewhere before.

"The old man said you'd say something like that," the boy continued laughing. "And he told me that if you DID say that, then I could use any force necessary."

The boy raised up his hand, and all of a sudden a Keyblade materialized in it. Vanitas was shocked, though, as this boy's Keyblade was exactly like his. Right down to the chains, red mars, and light blue eyes. How had this guy gotten a Keyblade exactly like his own?

However, Vanitas didn't have too much time to ponder on this as the boy then raised his Keyblade into a battle stance, again exactly like his own. How much of Vanitas' stuff did this boy steal from him?

"Let's see what you're made of," the boy said to Vanitas.

Vanitas gave a small chuckle. "I was about to say the same thing to you."

Vanitas rushed forward the boy, who just stood there for some reason. Vanitas made a swipe at the boy, but he brushed it aside with a side cartwheel, saying "Too slow."

The boy then rushed at Vanitas, first doing a downwards slash, then an upwards one, hitting Vanitas with both, and propelling himself in the air. Vanitas backed up as the boy landed on his feet.

"That's MY move!" Vanitas exclaimed at the boy.

"You never claimed ownership of it," the boy said, smugly.

'So that's what it's like on this end of the sarcastic comments,' Vanitas thought. 'I don't like it.'

Vanitas rushed forward just as the boy jumped up in the air, and sent bluish black lightning from his hand, towards the ground. Once the boy was back on the ground, Vanitas started attacking with his combo, managing to continue it even when the boy did a side cartwheel during it. Vanitas then used his Finish to encase his Keyblade in fire, and do a strong swipe at the boy. The boy froze for a second. This confused Vanitas for a second, until he realized what was going on.

'You've got to be kidding me," he thought, in an exasperated tone.

"Too slow," Vanitas heard behind and above him, as the boy had teleported there. The boy brought down his Keyblade on Vanitas, attacking him in a downwards slash.

Vanitas himself used this opportunity to get payback. As the boy did his attack on him, Vanitas himself left his own little apparition.

"Nope!" Vanitas exclaimed as he did a side swipe on the boy's back.

The boy was knocked into the air with a wail of pain that made Vanitas think of a deep voiced toddler. (Just like his cousin Ernesto.)

Vanitas rushed in, doing his own variation of the downwards swipe, and upwards slash. This knocked back the boy with a more age appropriate groan in pain, but he quickly retaliated, shooting a fireball at Vanitas. Vanitas slashed through the fireball, and made a strong swing at the boy. The boy quickly blocked, and their fighting escalated into a warrior like brawl with swords. Neither of them managed to get a good swipe in on the other one for a good long while, as both were really good with sword on sword techniques, even if some of the ones they did were the same exact ones on both sides.

Vanitas knew that he had to get this finished soon, so he decided to just play dirty. He brought up his foot and kicked the boy right in the sprouts.

Immediately, the boy lurched forward, clutching his area with his free hand. Vanitas used this to get the upper hand. He knocked the boy's Keyblade to the side, and used his Finish again to end this debacle. The boy fell back with a really long groan of pain, similar to one of defeat.

The boy landed on the ground, his head going under the water. As Vanitas wasn't completely sure of the properties of the boy's mask when under water, so he picked up the boy and carried him out of the water casing. He placed the boy on the ground, and stared at him. Somehow this boy had the same exact Keyblade as his own, along with some of the same attacks that he had. How was it possible that he could do all that, and control the Unversed? It shouldn't be possible that this kind of darkness could exist in a boy this age without some kind of serious force.

Vanitas looked at the boy's mask, and grew even more curious. What was he hiding under it? It might not solve much to find out, but he still felt that it would be beneficial to find out.

"Let's see who you are," Vanitas said, reaching for the mask.

Suddenly, the boy burst out laughing in a way similar to what he was doing earlier, surprising Vanitas. Vanitas jumped back, away from the boy, summoned his Keyblade, and stood in his battle stance. The boy slowly stood up, making it obvious to Vanitas that he had some difficulty due to the groin kick. He internally smiled in pride at the thought.

"Now that was a good fight," the boy said. "I'll tell the old man that maybe we should keep you around. You're fun to fight with."

"What's the old man planning?" Vanitas asked, angrily. "And how does it involve Ventus and Terra?"

The boy continued to chuckle as a portal of darkness opened behind him.

"You'll find out soon enough," the boy said as he walked into the portal.

"Wait!" Vanitas yelled as he ran towards the portal. Unfortunately, the portal dissipated just as he reached it.

Vanitas sighed in defeat. He was so close to figuring this stuff out, and his opportunity got stolen from him like that. All this little exchange did was add even more questions to his list. Especially this one: how was he gonna beat Xehanort if the old man had someone like this on his side? There had to be a way for them to stop Xehanort, and they had to do it soon, before anyone got hurt.

Vanitas' head perked up, as he started to feel a new surge of energy in the world nearby. This was a surge of light, and a strong and powerful one at that. Vanitas smiled when he recognized these spikes of light. He dissipated his Keyblade, and ran towards the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas vs Vanitas. What did you guys think?  
> Any feedback is welcome


	8. Exploring Worlds: Castle of Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our boy runs into another one of his friends. This one ended up being a little longer than I expected it to, as I wanted to have it be the entire duration Aqua was in the world, rather than bleak moments like the other two

Vanitas ran through the hallway, butterflies in his stomach at the idea of seeing his friend again, as what sounded like a clock chimed in the background. For some reason, he felt that there was supposed to be some significance to the clock, but he didn't ponder on it for too long.

Vanitas opened the double doors just to have to move out of the way immediately as the blonde woman in the silver dress from earlier ran past him, followed by a guy completely decked out in blue, with shoulder pads and a weird hairstyle (not that he could talk).

' _That was weird_ ,' Vanitas thought.

"Aqua!" Vanitas heard a familiar voice in the other room yell. Vanitas looked in the room to see Aqua standing a few feet from the doors, looking up towards the top of the _gigantic_ staircase.

"Terra!" she yelled up to the brunette as he made his way down the side stairs, then got to the top of the primary staircase. That's when Vanitas decided it was time to make his appearance known.

"Hey, guys!" he announced as he ran up to Aqua.

Aqua turned her head in surprise as she looked in Vanitas' direction, but the look quickly turned to delight when she saw it was him. Vanitas stopped and stood next to her as Terra was nearing them on the staircase.

"Good to see you again, Vanty-Wanty," Terra called down to Vanitas in a joking manner.

"Likewise, Terrabyte Cream City," Vanitas said in the same manner.

Aqua turned to Terra.

"Terra, Ven ran away from home," she said as Terra reached her and Vanitas.

"What?" Terra asked as he looked at Aqua in confusion.

"I think he left to go find you," Aqua answered.

"He was surprisingly good at wielding a Glider for a first timer," Vanitas added.

"Do you have any idea why?" Aqua continued.

"No..." Terra answered with his eyes closed. Then he realized something.

"Actually... Just before I left, he tried to tell me something," he said as he walked forward a bit. "I should have listened to what he had to say."

Vanitas thought back to what Ven had told him back in the Dwarf Woodlands, what he had said about the boy in the mask saying Terra would be a different person. Vanitas guessed it  _really_ must have rattled him if he was taking it this far.

"Oh," Aqua said, dejectedly. Then a little bit more upbeat. "So... did you manage to locate Master Xehanort?"

Vanitas looked up in surprise. Out of all of the worrying about his friends that he had been doing, he had almost forgotten that the main problem was Xehanort himself.

"No," Terra said, and Vanitas sighed in relief. "But it seems he's looking for pure hearts filled with light."

"Pure hearts..." Aqua said. "Filled with light..."

"Just like Ven," Vanitas added.

Aqua looked at Vanitas following his remark, in which Vanitas could then see a look on realization on her face.

' _I guess she never considered that about our buddy before_ ,' he thought.

Terra started walking towards the doors, still saying, "All I can tell you is that his search hasn't taken him here."

"All right," Aqua said. "I'll stay and see if I can find some more clues."

"And I'll tag along," Vanitas said. "Got nothing better to do at the moment."

Aqua nodded her appreciation.

"Okay," Terra called back. "The Prince is in the ballroom ahead. He might have some answers."

"Thanks," Aqua called.

"See you soon, buddy," Vanitas called.

Both Vanitas and Aqua turned to the staircase, before they heard Terra again.

"Aqua. Vanitas."

The two turned to look at him on the other side of the room.

"You still have the same dream?" he asked them.

"Well..." Aqua said, surprised. "Yes."

"Never changed," Vanitas said with a smile.

"There's this girl here," Terra said. "Her name's Cinderella. She made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem... a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness."

The three did similar head nods to each other.

"Now look who's turning into Uncle Jonas," Vanitas joked.

The three all chuckled a bit.

"If you see her, give her my thanks," Terra said.

"Will do," Aqua said.

"You can count on us," Vanitas added.

Terra turned around and walked out of the double doors.

Aqua and Vanitas in turn turned back around to face the giant staircase.

"He'll be all right," Aqua muttered to herself. "He won't give in to it."

"You've been worried about him?" Vanitas asked as the two started to walk up the stairs.

"A little bit," Aqua admitted, hugging her arms. "Have you run into him in another world?"

"Well," Vanitas said, thinking back on it. "This is the third world I've been to so far, I ran into him on the first one." He grimaced. "It didn't go so well."

"Well," Aqua said, nonchalantly. "Bad things happen all the time, and we just have to curtain through them."

Aqua looked at him in surprise when she saw that the grimace was still on his face.

"Or maybe this wasn't just some bad thing?" Aqua asked as they both stopped when they had reached the peak of the stairs.

Vanitas looked around, uncertainly, debating if he should tell her this or not.

"V..." Aqua asked, concerned. "What happened?"

Vanitas reached his decision.

"We found out Xehanort told some old witch about the Keyblade,  _and_ that little tidbit about the pure hearts." Vanitas answered.

He did fell guilty about not telling her everything about what happened on that world, but Vanitas figured this would be enough until he found a solution to the whole heart problem.

Aqua still took the news in with a look of shock nonetheless.

"What?" she asked. "But Xehanort is a Master, he should know that Order must be kept."

"He should," Vanitas agreed. "But that didn't stop him from sharing the secrets with some old hag."

"I don't get it," Aqua said. "Why would Master Xehanort do something like this?"

"I don't know," Vanitas answered. "But she mentioned something about needing seven pure hearts filled with light, in order to gain control of the worlds or something."

"And Master Xehanort is looking for pure hearts filled with light," Aqua said, bringing her hand to her chin, thinking things over.

"So Xehanort is probably enlisting her to get the seven hearts," the two concluded at the same time.

Vanitas felt actual pride swelling in his chest. Even though he still hadn't figured out Xehanort's final plan, he had figured out part of it, and that meant he was a step closer to stopping the old man for good.

"But why would Master Xehanort want to collect seven hearts filled with light?" Aqua asked. "What's the ultimate endgame there?"

"We'll figure it out later," Vanitas said. "The Master told me that I would be figuring out bits an pieces along this journey, so maybe we'll figure out more the more worlds we go to."

Aqua nodded in confirmation, but then looked at him, curious.

"When did the Master tell you this?" she asked.

"Before Terra left," Vanitas answered.

"And you didn't tell me this because...?"

"I didn't want to worry you," Vanitas said as he turned towards the ballroom.

"You know I'm older than you," Aqua said as they started walking into the room. "So really you can't do that with me."

"You kidding?" Vanitas asked. "I have more experience than you and the Master still keeps secrets from me." He looked at her sympathetically. "So we're pretty much in the same boat."

Aqua nodded in an understanding manner.

As the two walked towards the main spectacle of the ballroom, they passed a trio of ladies, one older woman that was obviously the mother of the two younger women. However, as they passed each other, the two Keyblade Masters both felt strong senses of negativity coming from the women. Both of them turned in surprise to watch the women as they left the ballroom, and the guy in blue from earlier came running back in.

As the guy passed the duo, Aqua asked, "Who are those ladies?"

The man stopped and stepped towards them.

"Oh, er," he said. "If I recall correctly, that is Lady Tremaine, and those are her daughters."

The duo looked back at where they last saw the women.

_'There was something very wrong about them_ , _'_  Aqua thought.

_'You noticed it, too?'_ Vanitas' voice asked in her head.

Aqua jumped in surprise and looked at Vanitas.

_'Oh, right, I never mentioned that part,'_ Vanitas' voice said again, embarrassed.

"You came back!" a voice suddenly said.

Aqua jumped in surprise again and looked at a new guy, this one in a yellow dress shirt and red pants. The guy then looked embarrassed.

"My apologies. I was mistaken," he said.

"Your Highness" blue guy said. "I found this on the palace stairs."

"A glass slipper?" The Prince (Vanitas figured) asked.

Vanitas then studied the blue guy's outfit, and realized he recognized some details detailing that this guy was a Duke.

"One dropped by a lovely young lady," the Duke said. "And I'll search far and wide to find the maiden whom this slipper belongs."

While he said this, Aqua and Vanitas decided to study the slipper, and were fascinated at the quality of it.

"You will?" the Prince asked.

"Of course, Your Highness," the Duke said. "After all, you have finally found someone whom you wish to marry."

_'That seems a little hasty,'_ Aqua heard Vanitas' voice in her head.

_'Yeah, but things are different in this world. Let's not worry about it,'_ Aqua thought, confident that Vanitas could hear it.

"Upon hearing that happy news," the Duke continued. "Your father, the King, has decreed that a quest shall begin immediately throughout the kingdom. And I will start with the closest residence- that of Lady Tremaine."

The Duke started walking out of the ballroom, while the Prince walked back towards the main part. Both Aqua and Vanitas stared back after the Duke.

_'Lady Tremaine... We had better pay her a visit,'_ Aqua thought in a determined manner.

"I just hope she's got good appetizers," Vanitas agreed and started walking after the Duke.

"Real quick," Aqua said, walking after Vanitas. "How long have you been able to do that?"

"Pretty much since I was born," Vanitas admitted. "Let me tell you, it really came in handy around Christmastime."

Aqua chuckled a small one as she walked after Vanitas.

* * *

 

Aqua and Vanitas stood in front of the door that entered into Lady Tremaine's house, listening to the Lady have her banter with the Duke. The two could automatically tell that there was darkness within the house. So, they nodded to each other in understanding and summoned their Keyblades. They took a step closer to the doors, until they were interrupted by a mysterious voice.

"Wait!"

The two turned around to see a bunch of lights starting to gather together into a shape.

"It's dangerous to fight the darkness with light, my dears." The voice said, originating from the lights as they transformed into an older woman wearing a purplish robe.

"Who are you?" Aqua asked.

"Cinderella's Fairy Godmother," the woman answered. "I appear to those who believe that dreams come true."

"Then we're honored," Aqua said.

"Which really says something," Vanitas agreed.

"But, why would you advise us not to fight darkness with light?" Aqua asked.

"Strong rays of sun create dark shadows," the Fairy Godmother answered. "Sadly, Lady Tremaine and both her daughters are jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty, qualities that appear to you as 'light.' Jealousy is darkness. Light and dark go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other."

"She's right," Vanitas agreed. "It's our job to keep the balance between the Light and the Dark."

Aqua looked down at her Keyblade as she asked, "Then what should we do?"

"It's quite simple, dears," the Fairy Godmother said. "One of Cinderella's friends is trying very hard to keep her light from fading. I want you two to join little Jaq and help him."

"We can do that," Aqua said.

Vanitas nodded in agreement.

"You'll need a bit of my magic to help Jaq," the Fairy Godmother said.

The three walked over so they were positioned under the open second story window. The Fairy Godmother tapped her wand in her hand, and light glowed on the tip.

She waved her wand around and announced, "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

Light flew out of the wand, and surrounded the two. The light then dissipated, and where they stood, two orbs of light hovered in the air where the Keyblade wielders stood. The lights then flew up into the air, and into the open window.

* * *

 

When they landed inside, they were incredibly small, standing under a table was now really tall. Looking around, their eyes quickly fell onto a mouse that was carrying a key noticeably too big for him, as part of it dragged on the floor. The mouse, whom Vanitas assumed was this Jaq the Fairy Godmother mentioned, had a determined look on his face. The two Keyblade Masters walked over to him.

"Are you okay?" Aqua asked.

"Cinderella's..." Jaq said. "Stepmother locked her in her room. I've gotta get her out. I've gotta save Cinderella!"

At least, that's the interpretation Vanitas and Aqua could get. This mouse had a weird way of speaking.

Aqua and Vanitas managed to catch up to the mouse, and figured they could use the easy solution to help him.

"Let us help you," Aqua said as they summoned their Keyblades.

"It'll be easy as pie," Vanitas guaranteed.

"Oh, thank you," Jaq said.

He turned to look at them, and gasped in amazement at their Keyblades.

"Ooh!" the mouse exclaimed. "Those like Ven's! Did you ever meet Ven?"

Both Aqua and Vanitas were surprised at Jaq's words.

"I'm Aqua and that's Vanitas," Aqua explained. "But tell us how you know Ven."

"He's a friend of ours," Vanitas explained.

"We're friends," Jaq explained. "Good friends. Ven helped me fix Cinderella's dress."

"And where is he now?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas agreed.

Jaq then looked sad as he explained further, "He's looking for a friend- another friend."

"I see..." Aqua said as she looked off into the distance. Then she said to herself, "Ven... you must have just missed Terra."

"Probably," Vanitas said, not ready to reveal the real reason. "He's not really used to you two being gone for long amounts of time yet."

Then, the group overheard from the other room that apparently the slipper couldn't fit one of Lady Tramaine's daughters, and she was freaking out, claiming it should have fit her.

"Oh no," Jaq exclaimed. "Hear that!? We've gotta hurry! Cinderella's gotta try that slipper!"

He turned and started running. "Come on, come on, hurry!"

Unversed then jumped out of the ground, interrupting Jaq, and scaring him.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "No, no, no! We've gotta hurry!"

Aqua and Vanitas ran forward, putting themselves between Jaq and the Unversed.

"It's all right," Aqua announced. "Leave this to us."

Vanitas nodded in agreement.

"Jaq, don't lose that key!" Vanitas told the mouse before he and Aqua charged the Unversed.

Vanitas and Aqua managed to draw away all of the Unversed from Jaq and struck all of them down, doing their absolute best to keep him safe. They did a good job, as could be evidenced from the mouse running quickly into the mouse hole.

"Thanks, Aqua and V," he yelled back before going into the hole.

* * *

 

Later on, Vanitas and Aqua stood outside Lady Tremaine's manor, feeling victorious with themselves. They had succeeded in getting Jaq to free Cinderella, distracted the Duke long enough for her to arrive in the room, and gave Cinderella their thanks for her reminding Terra that he needs to keep believing. It had certainly been a good night.

"You know," Vanitas said. "It's a good thing Cinderella came out in time."

"Why's that?" Aqua asked.

"Because I'm pretty sure you both are similar in feet size," Vanitas answered, looking at her in a cocky way. "And I think you marrying a Prince would really complicate things in your training."

Aqua laughed. "Thanks, you jerk."

All of a sudden, the two could hear a woman shriek from in the forest.

"What's that?" Aqua asked as they turned towards the sound.

The Duke ran out of the forest, shrieking the whole way. The two ran up to him.

"What happened?" Aqua asked.

"Where is Cinderella?" Vanitas asked.

The Duke stopped to catch his breath as the two Keyblade wielders reached him.

The Duke stuttered out, "Sh-she was attacked by a creature... a monster in the forest..."

"A monster?" Aqua asked.

_'I am dealing with a lot of giant Unversed,'_ Vanitas thought as he and Aqua ran into the forest.

The two reached Cinderella just in time to protect her from a giant blast of fire from the giant rotten-pumpkin-on-wheels based Unversed. Vanitas looked up to see Lady Tremaine and her daughters standing behind the Unversed.

Lady Tremaine laughed a wicked laugh, and Vanitas noticed she couldn't see the flaming pumpkin above them floating down towards them. Vanitas started to say something, but was interrupted by the woman.

"This is what happens when you go against my wishes!"

Vanitas had just enough time to think _'Self riotous lunatic,'_ before the pumpkin blew up and consumed the women in a giant blast of fire. Vanitas' little group stared up into the sky, following the women's screams.

"The darkness in their hearts overtook them," Aqua said.

"You think?" Vanitas asked, calmly and sarcastically.

"Go," Aqua told Cinderella. The woman did not hesitate and ran out of the forest, towards her house.

The two Keyblade Masters summoned their Keyblades and faced the Unversed.

Aqua did a rush in attack, and slashed upwards. Once she was in front of the Unversed, she launched a blizzard spell, and a thunder spell. (Vanitas was always curious about why it was called Thunder when really it was an attack of lightning.) Vanitas jumped up into the air and launched a large ball of fire at the monster. When it made contact, it exploded, but didn't look like it did too much damage. The monster rolled around on its vine like wheels as Aqua did a combo on it. Then, Aqua was suddenly encased in a purple light, and started running in a wide berth around the Unversed as it wheeled itself away. Both Vanitas and Aqua blocked as the monster did a big spinning attack.

Their blocks stunned the Unversed for a bit, which gave the two opportunities to do combos on the monster. What especially helped them was when the Unversed fell on top of its head. This gave Aqua the opportunity to add more attacks to her counter. However, they ran aside quick when the Unversed turned black and launched a volley of attacks on the two. The monster did another big spinning attack, which they blocked then again. While the Unversed was on it's back, Aqua did her Form's big Finish move while Vanitas made his Keyblade extend into a rod made of fire, and he did a combo with it like it was a BO staff. When the Unversed went black again, Aqua rushed out of the way, but Vanitas wasn't as lucky. The monster knocked him pretty far back, but he recovered pretty quickly.

Aqua did another bout of thunder and blizzard magic, and then both her and Vanitas had to run in the opposite direction, as the giant Unversed was trying to swallow them. As the monster finished its attempt at swallowing them, the two rushed in and did simultaneous attacks on the Unversed, and similarly simultaneous Finish moves on it. As they did their Finishes, a similar glow emminated from the last spots the monster was struck, and started to consume it, similar to the last two Unversed Vanitas had fought with Terra and Ventus.

Later on, Aqua and Vanitas relaxed on the other side of the reflective pond, as Cinderella and the Prince embraced together on the stairs, and the Duke watched in glee. Aqua was sitting on the edge part, and Vanitas stood with his arms crossed in satisfaction, both had smiles on their faces.

"Sure I still shouldn't say something?" Vanitas asked.

"I'm sure," Aqua answered.

They both turned to look as the Fairy Godmother appeared before them.

"A pure heart filled with light..." Aqua said, looking back at Cinderella.

"It's strange," she said. "The Master taught me darkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?"

She directed the question to the Fairy Godmother.

The Fairy Godmother turned to Aqua and answered in a very, well, motherly fashion, "Oh, my dear, you're too young to know. Experience more things, and you'll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams."

Aqua nodded.

"Besides," Vanitas interjected. "The Master's sort of brainwashed himself."

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked, confused.

"The whole time we've known him," Vanitas explained. "The Master has been on his own war against the darkness, claiming it to be the source of all of our problems, and it needs to be destroyed. But he's forgotten that light and darkness coexist with each other. One can't exist without the other. They both need each other in order to survive. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes," Aqua answered, actually sounding convinced.

"But at the same time," Vanitas continued. "There are also people that think that there's too much light in the universe, and think that it needs to be cleansed in order for balance to be restored. There's no telling what these people will do following these beliefs." Vanitas thought about Xehanort and what possible plans he had for the worlds. "These people need to be stopped."

"Right," Aqua nodded her head in agreement.

Suddenly, Vanitas could feel a really strong darkness spike in his stomach. This spike was really strong, which he briefly didn't understand. The boy in the mask had already left the world, and Vanitas couldn't sense any of the darkness within Terra growing stronger when he saw his friend earlier. So who could this be?

Vanitas' eyes widened in realization, which didn't go unnoticed by Aqua.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Vanitas turned to face the entrance to the woods.

"Wait here," he said simply. "This is something I have to do alone."

"Vanitas," Aqua started to say.

"Aqua," Vanitas interrupted her, turning to face her. He made sure he had his most determined face on. "Please, trust me."

Aqua was surprised, as he almost never did this face unless he absolutely needed something to be done, which hardly ever happened anymore, so she knew it must be serious.

"You've got an hour," Aqua said, matter-of-factly. "Then I'm coming in after you."

"Deal," Vanitas said.

The ravenette turned and ran towards the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three things:  
> 1\. How many of you have played 3 yet?   
> 2\. What did you guys think of the stupid nicknames that they had for each other?  
> 3\. Shit's about to go DOWN in the next chapter


	9. V vs X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas has another encounter with someone he doesn't really care for. Two guesses who

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I couldn't think of anything good for the chapter name, so i thought I'd do something like that

Vanitas ran back into the forest, looking in every direction he could to see if he could find the source of the darkness spikes. With no luck, he decided to just keep running until he got to the area where he and Aqua fought the Unversed Boss.

Vanitas stood in the center of the clearing, hoping it would be a good place to use his senses. Unfortunately, he could feel darkness spikes all over. Given that he was pretty sure there was only one person that the darkness was originating from when he first sensed it, he figured that random orbs of darkness were just launched around the clearing in the forest. It wouldn't have been the first time he had encountered something like that.

"So I'm not losing my mind," Vanitas said to himself. "At least I know that."

Suddenly, a high pitched sound originated behind Vanitas, and he turned around to see a barrier go up at the entrance of the clearing. He looked forward again to see another barrier separating the clearing from the little impasse with the fountain.

"Okay," Vanitas said. "I'm in trouble."

Vanitas felt another darkness spike above him, and looked up to see a dark portal open about ten feet above him.

Before Vanitas could say anything in some kind of response, a large monster fell out of the portal and landed in front of him. This monster surprised Vanitas as he could sense a great deal of darkness within it. This was no Unversed, just a being of pure darkness. This terrified him a little, as it was one of the few things he had never encountered before. The creature was similar to a giant hunter wolf, about twice Vanitas' height. The entire body was purple, it's paws purple, along with barbs on it's head that were also purple. The eyes were an orange hue, with a visible light coming from them, that actually traced around as the monster moved it's head. The end of the tail reminded Vanitas of a black unpeeled banana for some reason, but that didn't make him think it wouldn't be dangerous. The monster's mouth very much resembled a jagged line going up and down a lot.

"Geez," Vanitas said. "You are something only a mother could love."

The monster didn't like that. It jumped back, then did a forwards spinning attack at Vanitas, who moved to the side at the last second, to make sure it didn't try following him. Vanitas turned to face the monster just as it turned back around to look at him.

"You wanna be like that, huh?" Vanitas asked it, rhetorically. "Okay..."

He summoned his Keyblade and stood in his battle stance.

"Let's go, you mangy mutt."

The monster jumped side to side a few times, then did a charge attack towards Vanitas. When it made impact, Vanitas left another one his copies down, teleporting behind the monster.

"You wish," Vanitas said as he made a side slash with the Keyblade encased in fire.

Vanitas had to chase after the monster a bit when it kept doing side hops away from him, but knew when to block when it started doing spin attacks at him. During one of the spin attacks, Vanitas jumped up into the air, and launched lightning down onto it with a slight grunt.

When Vanitas landed, he had to jump out of the way immediately as the monster made a swipe at him with it's claws.

"Freeze!" Vanitas yelled as he launched a chunk of ice at the monster. It made contact, but had almost no effect.

"Dang," Vanitas said as he ducked from another spin attack.

When the monster was above him during it's attack, Vanitas tried to stab at it, but his Keyblade just bounced off like nothing had happened.

He got up, and immediately had to start dodging the monster's attacks again as it alternated between jumping around and slashing at him. The monster then started skirting it's way around Vanitas, very much like a wolf stalking it's prey, before it made another spin attack.

Vanitas rushed towards the monster and slashed downwards, then upwards again, but it seemed to have little effect on it. He managed to get in a couple of combos when the monster was idle for a second. However, when it did a little howl, Vanitas knew he had to get out of the way. Which he did, narrowly avoiding a giant fireball's impact. (Despite all the powers he had with fire, Vanitas still didn't understand how it could still harm him. Maybe fire from light and fire from dark had different properties? He'd ponder that later.)

Vanitas jumped out of the way as the monster then sent a blue orb of energy towards him. The monster continued it's tactics of constant jumping around and alternating attacks.

With how little impact Vanitas had when it came to hurting this thing, he gathered it's role here was just to tire him out for something that would follow immediately afterwards. Knowing he couldn't let that happen, Vanitas looked up at the dark portal still open in the air, and formed an idea.

While the monster was still doing it's jumping around, Vanitas held his Keyblade in both of his hands as he was encased in light. Before the monster could register what was happening (if it could register anything at all) Vanitas rose up into the air and aimed his Keyblade at it. Light shot out of his Keyblade and around the monster. The light went around each of the monsters' ankles, and the point of the tail right under the weird, spikey barb thing. The monster wailed in distress as the lights then brought all of the legs and the tail together, and were transformed into chains.

Using his Keyblade, Vanitas raised the monster up and sent it back into the portal it came out from. He then pointed his Keyblade right back at the portal, and shot a beam of light at it. When the beam made impact, the portal dissipated into smoke.

Vanitas' Keyblade dematerialized as he tried to catch his breath.

"What in the world was that thing?" he asked himself.

"A creature of the darkness," a voice behind him answered.

Vanitas honestly wasn't surprised at the voice's sudden appearance, as he figured that the person had been behind this whole thing. He was even less surprised by who the voice belonged to.

"That I gathered," Vanitas said, looking back at Master Xehanort. "What, you decided you'd send your seeing eye dog on me?"

The old man smiled in an unamused way. "I don't appreciate your sense of humor, young man. You should know I am all for keeping the balance between the light and the dark."

"I know," Vanitas said. "I read some of your reports. You want to keep the balance, but you think the world has been overcome with too much light."

Master Xehanort sneered at him.

"How much did you find?" the old man asked.

"Not a lot," Vanitas admitted. "But enough to know you're trouble. And you want Ven for something I still don't know about, and you want Terra to be your, 'vessel' is it?"

Master Xehanort looked at Vanitas in shock. This let the ravenette figure out he had struck a nerve with the old man, which helped him figure out that he was getting closer to figuring everything out. Then, suddenly, the old man closed his eyes and smirked in a still kind of sinister way.

"Very good," Master Xehanort said. "You are very clever and perceptive for your age. If only you had chosen my offer to be my apprentice. We could have done so much together."

"Then what?" Vanitas asked. "You'd throw me aside the second you were done with me? I don't think so. Especially since I'm not in the mood for causing havoc with darkness."

"Right," Master Xehanort said, exasperated. "After joining Eraqus, he taught you and your little friends that darkness needed to be destroyed, and light was the only way."

"Well," Vanitas said. "That IS what he taught us, but even I know that that isn't true. Light and darkness have to exist in balance, both surviving in equal amounts. We can't disrupt the order by having too much light or too much darkness. So we can't have people that want to destroy all the darkness..." He then looked meaningfully at Master Xehanort. "... Or people who want to destroy all the light."

Xehanort smirked. "So that's how it's gonna be, eh? Alright..."

The old man held out his hand and summoned his Keyblade.

"Let's go."

Vanitas felt goosebumps appear on his skin under his jacket. This was a battle he had been looking forward to ever since he turned down the old man, and he wasn't gonna pass up on this opportunity.

"Your wish is my command," Vanitas said, summoning his Keyblade.

Vanitas rushed forward and lunged at the old man. Just before his Keyblade made impact, Xehanort teleported out of sight. Sensing the darkness spikes, Vanitas side cartwheeled out of the way just before Xehanort reappeared behind him and slashed at where he stood. Vanitas turned to face the old man, and blocked just in time for a large blast of ice almost hit him. Vanitas slashed through a second blast of light, and threw his Keyblade at the Xehanort. The old man groaned in pain as the Keyblade made impact then flew back into Vanitas' hand. Before Xehanort could react, Vanitas then charged forward with his Keyblade in a stabbing motion, turning after he was out of the way, then rushing into the old man again. This happened a few times, up until he did one final rush, with an added bit of force in it to signify the end of the move.

The second Vanitas finished the move, Xehanort teleported away and reappeared about ten feet in front of him.

"Impressive," the old man admitted. "Now if you just used the darkness, then who knows how far you could have taken that move?"

"What, like your lackey?" Vanitas asked smugly. "I gotta ask, how did you get an apprentice? I mean, with how few Keyblade wielders there are at the moment, who in their right mind would actually follow you?"

Xehanort smirked. "It is unusual, I admit. But since you're curious, I will admit, Vanitas came to me in a unique way."

This made Vanitas frown. "What are you talking about? No, I didn't."

"Oh, yes," Xehanort said, actual humor in his voice. "I almost forgot that part."

"Forgot wha-" Vanitas interrupted himself. Then he remembered about how the boy in the mask had the same exact fighting moves as him, and his Keblade was the exact same. Suddenly, everything clicked in Vanitas' head.

"You're kidding me," he said, exasperated.

"I don't kid," Master Xehanort said. "It goes against my nature."

"You mean to tell me," Vanitas began. "That that little pipsqueak stole my style, my Keyblade, AND my name!?"

"That would be a yes," the old man laughed. "Although, to be fair, he didn't know that all of these were taken, so how could he have known?"

"You know what," Vanitas said. "I know it's been a while since you've last been in a fight, but there's usually not this much talking!"

Vanitas ran towards the old man, and did a simple rush forward to do a downwards slash, than an upwards side slash. Unfortunately, both missed. Xehanort then did his series of slashes at Vanitas, all of them hitting him. Then, the old man ended it with a large blast of ice originating from his hand and hitting the ravenette. It was in this final blow that Vanitas left his fake copy. He teleported behind Xehanort, muttered "Gotcha" and side slashed at the old man's back. Unfortunately, Xehanort disappeared right before Vanitas' Keyblade made impact.

"Feel the darkness!" Vanitas heard Xehanort's voice say somewhere.

Before Vanitas could find out where the old man was, the ground suddenly attacked him, raising up and knocking him into the air. Before he could recover, he heard Xehanort yelling again.

"Freeze!"

As he was falling back to the ground, Vanitas looked up to see three shards of ice flying right towards him. He narrowly managed to avoid to, but the third one hit him squarely in the chest. He fell back to the ground, and landed on his back. Vanitas then rolled out of the way when he saw a tree from the forest encased in darkness come down to try to hit him in the head.

"Jesus, man!" he exclaimed. "You're going through an awful lot to try to kill a teenager!"

Vanitas stood up and ran away from the forest edges nearby, just as more trees encased in darkness tried to attack him.

"You should have joined me when you had the chance, Vanitas," he heard Xehanort's voice say somewhere. "This really is a shame, I wanted you to be a witness to my plan's ultimate success. But, every Keyblade wielder's journey comes to an end at some point. Your's is just coming earlier that expected."

During all of this, Vanitas used the darkness spikes to figure out where Xehanort is.

"Says you," he said as he pointed his Keyblade into the woods where the old man was.

Vanitas grunted as he shot a large fireball out of his Keyblade that became four slightly smaller fireballs as it reached closer to Xehanort.

Unfortunately, the darkness spikes changed before the fireballs could hit. Most unfortunately, they reappeared right behind Vanitas.

Before Vanitas could react, Xehanort did a series of slashes against Vanitas' back, and used the ice finisher to knock him down. Vanitas turned himself around, so his back was on the ground instead, and looked up at the old man that had a very triumphant smile on his face.

"You look creepy when you smile," Vanitas croaked out.

"Try to be funny all you want," Master Xehanort said. "Your time is still u-"

"Vanitas!" a voice down the path yelled.

Vanitas recognized the voice as Aqua's, and judging by the annoyed look on the old man's face, so did Xehanort. He looked towards the path where he knew Aqua was coming, then back down to Vanitas.

"Soon, boy," he growled, then disappeared from sight.

"You're still trying to freaking kill a teenager, man!" Vanitas exclaimed even though he knew the old man couldn't hear him.

The invisible barriers dissipated, and Aqua came into view from her pathway. She bore witness to Vanitas weakly getting up and downing a Potion like a shot of liquor.

"What happened?" she asked as she reached the ravenette.

Vanitas thought about telling her about Master Xehanort, but he then figured it would probably be best to keep her in the dark for a little while longer.

"A creature from the dark," Vanitas explained. "It came out of a portal and beat the heck out of me, so i used up a lot of my energy to chain it up, send it back through, and close the portal."

Technically, he wasn't lying. Fighting the monster earlier had drained a good amount of energy out of him, which was probably a good factor in how Xehanort had beat him. Next time, he would have to remember to take a Potion before the fight started.

"A dark creature?" Aqua asked, worried. "Not an Unversed?"

"No," Vanitas agreed. "Out of all the Unversed we faced, I never noticed too much darkness in them. They are, after all, mostly made of negativity. This thing was some kind of dweller of darkness."

"That's scary, then," Aqua said. "If it was able to travel outside the realm of Darkness to face you."

"You don't have to tell me," Vanitas said as he looked back up to where the portal had opened.

Obviously Xehanort had something to do with how this Dark Vanitas had come into being, but wasn't about to share how just yet. Another thing to add to the list of thing's Xehanort was up to that he'd have to figure out before it was too late.

"Anyway," Aqua said. "We should get moving. Our time in this world is over."

Vanitas paused for a second before he agreed, "Yeah."

Aqua opened a gateway into the Lanes Between and summoned her armor and Glider.

"You go first," Vanitas said. "I need a second."

Aqua looked at him for a second, like she was considering something. Ultimately, she agreed and flew into the portal.

Once she was gone, Vanitas summoned his Keyblade and used it to close Aqua's portal. He then used it to open another portal, and summoned his armor.

'Sorry, Aqua,' he thought. 'But I need to do this alone.'

He flew into the portal, ready to begin the next part of his plan: find the fake Vanitas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for this chapter to take so long to be added. Life just happened. As for the monster that Vanitas faced, yes, it's the Dark Hunter thing that Aqua fought at the end of the secret episode included in Birth By Sleep Final Mix. I figured it would be an interesting way to show that Xehanort has ways to bring out all sorts of creatures from the realm of Darkness, and thought it'd be a fun way to explain the chains around its ankles, and on that weird tail thing. Anyway, usual routine, all feedback is appreciated


	10. Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a moment of stealth, Vanitas manages to get some answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of decided to change the decision i made involving the two Vanitas'. In some situations, our Vanitas will just be plainly referred to as Vanitas, and the canon Vanitas will occasionally be referred to as Dark Vanitas. Might keep up the V and Vanitas thing. I haven't decided yet, though

Vanitas flew through the Lanes Between, once again using his sensing of darkness spikes and spikes of light to guide himself. He had been travelling through here for a while in an attempt to find Dark Vanitas, and encountered two worlds that he figured were best left forgotten, but had no luck. It seemed now that the masked boy knew that the Keyblade Master was be looking for him, he was going all out to stay active and remain hidden from Vanitas.

 _'Good,'_ Vanitas thought.  _'He knows that once i find him, I'm not gonna hold back against him.'_

Suddenly, Vanitas managed to detect someone familiar through his senses. This one had a strong light, but a darkness growing deep in them.

It was Terra.

Using his senses to see the trajectory that Terra was in, he saw that his friend was travelling to a barren, deserted world that was partly covered by sandy winds. Before Vanitas could question why Terra would go to a place like that, he felt another familiar spike. This one was of powerful darkness. Moreover, this one was one Vanitas had just encountered.

Terra was going towards Master Xehanort.

Making sure he was a good enough distance away that Terra wouldn't notice him, Vanitas followed his friend to the Badlands.

* * *

 

Vanitas flew into the world through a pretty low portal, again, making sure he was hidden from view. He looked up in the air to see Terra fly through a similar portal high above him. The brunette flew his glider up to a very prominent ridge, so Vanitas followed suit. Vanitas dissipated his armor and landed on a ledge just below the floor of the ridge.

Vanitas looked up over the top of the edge to witness the ridge in it's full glory. It was very large, with one of the flattest grounds Vanitas had ever seen, but that was to be expected due to this being a barren wasteland. There were seven large pillars coming out of the ground, each of them varying sizes.

However, the main spectacle was Terra landing about twenty feet in front of him, standing across from Master Xehanort. Vanitas was suddenly happy that for some reason they all talked very loudly, cause it let him eavesdrop on the conversation.

"I have been to other worlds." Terra called to the old man. "I know all about the things you've done."

Vanitas' heart started racing in excitement. He finally figured out that this old man was up to no good?

"I just don't understand why," Terra finished.

Well, it was good to wish.

Vanitas looked at the old man, expecting him to look scared at Terra's words. He did not expect Xehanort to look sad and remorseful.

"Someone had to safeguard the light..." the Master said. "...from the demon I unleashed."

 _'Bull corn,'_ Vanitas thought.

"You must know about the boy by now," Xehanort continued. "The one in the mask."

This peaked Vanitas' interest.

"His name is Vanitas. A creature of pure darkness. One of my making."

While he was saying this, the old man closed his hand into a fist.

"Vanitas," Terra said in a tone of curiosity and bewilderment.

Vanitas decided to use his powers to sense what Terra was thinking. He could see in Terra's head that the boy was feeling slight anger and distrust towards... him?

 _'Oh, no,'_ Vanitas thought.  _'He's gonna go in that direction with the naming thing?'_

"Are you telling me he came from you?" Terra asked Master Xehanort.

"He came from Ventus," Master Xehanort answered.

Both Terra and Vanitas were filled with shock and disbelief at Master Xehanort's words.

"Ventus?" Terra asked, bewildered.

 _'No way,'_ Vanitas thought.  _'That can't be true.'_

"Yes," Master Xehanort confirmed. "Vanitas is the darkness that was inside your friend."

Both Terra and Vanitas jumped in surprise as the old man continued.

"It was an accident. While training with me, Ventus succumbed to darkness, and there was but one way to save him... Strip that part of him away. And this Vanitas was made. In the process, I damaged Ventus's heart in the most dangerous way."

The old man gestured with his hands a lot while he talked, then turned to look away from Terra.

"So I did what I felt was right, and left him with Eraqus," Xehanort continued. "I knew the boy could not stay with me, the man who did him such grievous harm."

The Master had actually sounded like a sad, remorseful old man through his little rant. And had Vanitas not known that this was definitely all a ruse, he would have felt bad for Xehanort.

The part about this Dark Vanitas being the darkness that resided in Ventus' heart... that was actually pretty easy to believe. It explained a bit. But Ven succumbing to darkness? He couldn't imagine that in a million years. What was the real reason the old man did this?

"Master Xehanort..." Terra said. He then walked a few steps closer to the old man. "Ventus has gotten a lot better since then. You shouldn't blame yourself for trying to save him."

 _'Oh, boy,'_ Vanitas thought, exasperated.

"Well... thank you, lad." the Master said. "You know how to put an old man's heart at ease."

Vanitas still had a bit of powers seeing into Terra's head, which he didn't even realize until he heard Terra's voice saying "So that's what it was."

Vanitas then ended up seeing a little memory that Terra was thinking about. It was the say that Master Xehanort dropped off Ventus to Master Eraqus. The four had introduced themselves to each other, then Terra started asking him some questions. Vanitas had, at the time tried to stop Terra because he didn't want to bombard the new guy, but Terra pressed on. Then Ventus screamed out in pain and the two Masters joined them, and told the three trainees that Ventus couldn't remember anything.

 _'That explains it,'_ Vanitas thought.

"Master..." he heard Terra continue. "Why is Vanitas still free?"

Xehanort faced Terra again. "Ah, yes. Well, I did my best to contain him the moment he emerged, but..."

"He managed to escape," Terra finished.

Xehannort nodded, and Vanitas started to think that the man always had his hands behind his back because his fingers were probably always crossed. The old man then stepped towards Terra again.

"Vanitas uses the Keyblade to sow seeds of darkness," he continued. "And now, you see... the worlds teem with his ghastly underlings."

"The Unversed!" Terra gasped as the old man walked past him.

As Xehanort was walking, Vanitas ducked back under the edge and hid on his ledge, as he was sure the old man had almost seen his head. So, he pulled out a little mirror he had attached to a little pole and used that to watch what was happening instead.

"He has no control over the darkness in his heart," Xehanort pressed on. "The Keyblade is not his to bear."

The old man turned to Terra. "He's an abomination beyond hope of salvation. Lend me your strength, Terra. Right this wrong that I have wrought."

Xehanort kept gesturing with his hands while he talked, and in the end, he made a face that kind of freaked Vanitas out.

Terra put one hand on his chin, and the other on his hip. "But I have no idea where to find him."

Xehanort interjected, "What I can tell you about Vanitas amounts to this... His darkness is drawn to the light, which he seeks to disrupt... and then destroy."

Vanitas, still unintentionally using his powers to look into Terra's head, suddenly saw some flashes appear that he figured Terra was seeing. They mostly involved Aqua and Ven, but the images were clouded in darkness, and some of them neither boy understood.

Terra did a small gasp and took his hand off of his chin as Xehanort finished.

"It stands to reason that he will strike next in the city of light, Radiant Garden."

Terra shook his head for a second then looked at Master Xehanort again.

"Don't worry, Master," Terra said. "I'll take care of Vanitas."

Vanitas then felt dread in the pit of his stomach at that. If Terra still got confused because of the whole name thing, then things would get ugly, fast.

Then, Terra summoned his armor and Glider again, and flew back into the sky. Master Xehanort disappeared mere seconds later, giving Vanitas a moment of reprieve.

This explained a lot about why Ventus was like that before they had finally become friends. His heart as still healing after having his darkness being taken out of him. It also explained what Ventus said that one time about feeling like he was missing something important. In a way, he was. He had lost his darkness, and become a pure heart filled with light. This had to be part of the reason why Xehanort had these crazy plans for Ventus. It also spelled out for him: whatever plan Xehanort had for Ventus, this Dark Vanitas was involved in it, too.

As Vanitas started to think of his next course of action, he suddenly felt a familiar spike of darkness close by within the Lanes Between, along with a familiar spike of light.

Ventus was following Dark Vanitas to this very world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys think of any cocky jokes you'd like to hear Vanitas say in a future chapter, let me know. I plan on making him sort of like the Chandler from Friends of this series. Also, is ridge the right term to use for that part of the Badlands?


	11. Teamwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ventus! Vanitas! Dark Vanitas! Mickey? MICKEY!!!

Vanitas looked up into the sky just as a new portal opened up and Ventus flew through into The Badlands. Dark Vanitas' darkness spikes had suddenly disappeared from his radar, but given that he was in front of Ventus while they were in the Lanes Between, Vanitas figured he must be somewhere on this world. Ventus flew his Glider right over Vanitas, right into the center of the barren field. He dissipated his armor, and landed on his feet.

It always confused Vanitas how he and his friends managed to fall down insane distances and land on their feet like nothing had happened.

"Where's he hiding?" Ventus asked himself.

Almost immediately, he realized Dark Vanitas was standing a little bit behind him. He turned back to face the masked boy with his best angry face.

"All right!" he called out, gesturing with his hands while he talked. "What did you mean about Terra being a different person?"

It also confused Vanitas why pretty much everyone in his life felt the need to gesture with their hands while they talked.

"Exactly what I said, idiot," Dark Vanitas said, walking a few feet towards Ventus. "The Terra you know will be gone forever."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Ventus declared.

"Stupid, or true." Dark Vanitas said as he held up his hand.

This confused Ventus, but the point was made clear a few seconds later when a Keyblade exactly identical to Vanitas' materialized in his hand.

"A Keyblade?" Ventus asked, more confused.

Vanitas used his powers to see into Ventus' head this time, and managed to see traces of surprise, confusion, and disbelief. However, there were also traces of himself in Ventus' head? Oh, no, Ventus is getting tricked into thinking this poser is the regular Vanitas just like Terra did.

After a second of staring in disbelief, Ventus exclaimed his determination, summoned his Keyblade, and stood in his battle stance. Dark Vanitas followed suit, getting into his (and real Vanitas') battle stance.

"Good," the masked boy said. "Let's see what you're made of."

Vanitas knew that he should come out and help out his friend, but something stopped him. He knew that Ventus wasn't as strong as himself or the others, but at the same time, he was curious about how the blonde would fare in this fight. So, he reluctantly stayed in his hiding place.

Ventus blocked in just enough time to avoid taking damage from Dark Vanitas rushing forward and doing a downward slash and an upward slash. Dark Vanitas in turn dodged Ventus' tornado attack himself. Ventus then ran forward, managing to dodge an attack of Dark Vanitas' consisting of a giant fireball. There ended up being some more dodging blocking from both Ventus and Dark Vanitas before Ventus finally managed to make contact when he tried to start a combo. Ventus managed to strategically dodge Dark Vanitas' attacks while also managing to add in an attack or two, but still not managing to get a full combo.

Dark Vanitas ended up getting in one attack before Ventus was suddenly encased in energy. This Command Style consisted mostly of fire. Ventus managed to dodge an attack of Dark Vanitas jumping in the air and sending down black lightning, and managed to get a couple of strikes in on the masked boy. Dark Vanitas was really starting to annoy the real Vanitas with how much he was using the fake out copies and teleportation strikes. That was one of Vanitas' favorite attacks.

Ventus managed to start a mini combo on Dark Vanitas, who made grunts in pain varying from simple grunts, to infant like whines. The blonde then jumped into the air, and sent down a large amount of fire onto Dark Vanitas, using up the remaining energy from the Command Style. Unfortunately, once Ventus got back on the ground, Dark Vanitas did a powerful upwards slash that knocked him backwards, and knocked him out when he hit the ground.

"That really all you got?" Dark Vanitas asked as he walked towards the unconscious Ventus. "Man, you are worthless. I'd be going against the Master's orders, but so what?"

Dark Vanitas stopped and let dark blue energy grow at the tip of his Keyblade as he continued, "As far as I'm concerned, your job here is done."

Dark Vanitas then held his Keyblade as the energy grew into a dark blue orb, which he then launched at Ventus. The orb exploded where the unconscious Ventus laid, and blue fire erupted there, going taller than Dark Vanitas. The fire reflected onto Dark Vanitas' mask as he watched what he just did. The fire dissipated, and Ventus was gone.

"Don't worry! You're safe."

"That was too close."

Dark Vanitas then looked to his right to witness a large, human sized mouse and the regular Vanitas standing over the still unconscious Ventus. The mouse jumped back and summoned a Keyblade. Magic grew at the tip, and he rose it up into the air.

"Heal!"

The energy flew out of the Keyblade, and green light surrounded Ventus.

"That is one sweet looking Keyblade," Vanitas remarked.

"Thanks," the mouse remarked with a smile.

Ventus slowly arose and looked up at Vanitas and the newcomer. He jumped in surprise in seeing Vanitas and the masked boy standing a few feet behind them in the same place. Vanitas looked behind himseld at Dark Vanitas, then back to his friend.

"I know," he said before he summoned his Keyblade.

Vanitas and the mouse then turned towards Dark Vanitas and ran over to face him.

"Tell me where you got that!" the mouse announced. He held up his Keyblade as he continued, "Keyblades are not something you can use just to bully someone around! Here, I'll show ya!"

The newcomer then stood in a battle stance.

"We all will," Ventus said as he got up and stood in his battle stance.

"You know it," Vanitas agreed.

The three Keyblade wielders nodded at each other in confirmation, then turned to face Dark Vanitas.

The three of them did classic moves of dodging Dark Vanitas' various attacks, and waiting until the good time to strike. The newcomer tried to start his own attack, which the masked boy managed to evade with a side cartwheel. Vanitas rushed forward and did his attack of a downwards slash and an upwards side slash. Ventus managed to make another attempt at his Tornado move, successfully this time, picking up the masked boy with it. The newcomer joined in by sending an orb of light in an attack towards the enemy in the tornado.

The tornado dissipated, and Dark Vanitas fell to the ground. Ventus then followed it up with a new, fresh Finish attack similar to his regular one, but with a bit more power in it, and an upwards move. Dark Vanitas left behind a fake copy, and made an attempt to get Ventus by teleporting behind him. Fortunately, Ventus managed to dodge before it could happen. Even better, Vanitas launched a blast of fire at Dark Vanitas' back, knocking him forwards. The three kept it up by attacking the masked boy in the back, not giving him too much time to recover.

Of course, Dark Vanitas did manage to get away and keep up the attempts with his attacks. He went all out with the slashes, the giant fireballs, and the jumping up to launch lightning towards them. The small attacks they did to him, he even managed to dodge with the simple side cartwheels and the fake copies.

"Let's team up!" the newcomer announced as energy of light surrounded him.

The two boys joined in with him, and they were suddenly floating in the air together, spinning in a circle, surrounded by light energy, and expelling more energy from their Keyblades. This was one attack that seemed a little fairy tale hokey to both Vanitas and Ventus, but they managed to use it to finish off the masked boy, which was evidenced by him doing a really long groan and expelling a large amount of light.

The three Keyblade wielders got out of their battle stances as the masked boy laid on his back on the ground. Suddenly, Dark Vanitas raised up his legs, and managed to jump up and do a bit of a spin as he was landing on his feet. The three then got back into their battle stances as the masked boy looked at them.

"Hmph," Dark Vanitas exclaimed. "You win."

A dark portal opened up behind the masked boy, and he slowly walked into it backwards, saying, "Consider yourself on probation."

The portal closed, so the Vanitas and Ventus dissipated their Keyblades and all three of them stood up straight.

"Probation for what?" Ventus asked.

"Not sure," Vanitas answered. "But I don't like the sound of it."

Ventus then looked at Vanitas in disbelief.

"But..." he said, slowly. "How, how does he have..."

"The same exact Keyblade as me?" Vanitas finished. "The same battle stance as me? The same moves as me?"

"Yeah, those would be the right questions," Ventus said.

"My guess?" Vanitas asked. "Maybe a cloning situation gone wrong."

Vanitas didn't think it was the right time to tell Ventus about Dark Vanitas being the darkness that was in his heart just yet. With all of the trouble they had been through so far, Vanitas figured his friend could use a break before his entire world was rocked with this information.

Ventus decided to nod in understanding even though Vanitas could tell that this wasn't enough to answer his friend's question.

The two decided to turn towards the newcomer.

"Thanks for before," Ventus said to him. "I owe ya."

"Yeah," Vanitas agreed. Then joked, "I don't know what I'd do without my little Vennie here."

The two laughed before they decided to continue.

"The name's Ventus and this is Vanitas," Ventus introduced them. "What's yours?"

"I'm Mickey." he announced happily.

Ventus leaned forward so he was eye level with the mouse. "I see you've got a Keyblade."

"One of the coolest ones I've ever seen," Vanitas added.

"Yep," Mickey agreed. "I've been trainin' under the great Yen Sid."

He dissipated his Keyblade.

"He found out that the worlds are in trouble, an' I sorta took off without tellin' him." He rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"Well, that makes both of us," Ventus said. "I ran off, too."

"What about you?" Mickey asked to Vanitas.

"Oh, I'm a Master," he said. "I didn't need permission."

The three shared a small laugh. Mickey then pulled out a star shaped crystal.

"All I hafta do is think it," he explained. "And the Star Shard will take me where I wanna go. At least, I thought it would. I haven't quite got the fine points down, like... when, or where... It just kinda kicks in whenever it wants to."

He perked up when he said, "But I wouldn't have met you two if it hadn't brought me here."

The two boys chuckled a bit.

"Ya know," Mickey continued. "It might not be an accident. Maybe it starts workin' 'cause it's reactin' to somethin'."

The Keyblade wielders then looked at the Shard curiously. All of a sudden, a bright light emerged from the Shard, which nearly blinded the boys and the mouse. Before they could do anything, the light engulfed all three of them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Everglow's Kingdom Hearts Timeline on YouTube which I've been using to go along with this series so far, and the battles done throughout the game for me to have some context. Possibly one of the clearest routes I have for the continuity of the entire Kingdom Hearts series.  
> Also, in regards of Mickey being referred to as "the mouse" or "the newcomer" the whole chapter, I know we all knew that that was Mickey freaking Mouse the whole time, but I'm looking at this in the perspective of Ventus and Vanitas, who have just met him, so they don't know his name. Similar situation with the Disney princesses we saw in similar chapters. Just trying to stay in tune with them.


	12. Radiant Garden I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas wakes up in an entirely new world in a way that doesn't exactly seem like fun

Darkness.

That was all that surrounded him.

As time went on, he grew even more confused. He didn't know where he was, he didn't how he got here, and worst of all, he didn't know where his friends were.

After a good while of silence, he started to hear the muffled sounds of someone talking. So, he decided to try to follow it, to see if it could lead him out of here. He got closer and closer, until...

"HEY!!!!"

Vanitas' eyes snapped open.

That was some weird dream.

He tried looking around the area to see what was going on. Everything looked a little odd and out of focus. But since he was new to this world and didn't know the layout, he wasn't gonna be too judgmental. Vanitas tried looking down to try to clear his head, and was surprised at what he saw. Looking down, his ankle was caught in what looked like a drain gutter. That had to be pretty gross. He looked past his foot and saw... the sky? In response to this, Vanitas looked up to see the ground a few dozen feet above him. Suddenly, it all clicked together.

He was upside down.

"Good!" he heard a voice yell. "You're awake!"

Vanitas twisted around a bit so that he could see a little brown haired kid standing in the front row of a small crowd of people looking at him. Vanitas gathered that it was the little kid who was yelling, cause he had only ever heard a voice that high pitched on a guy before with Michael Jackson.

"Yeah!" Vanitas called out to the boy. "I guess I am."

This wasn't good. The whole point of being a Keyblade Master in another world was to operate without the truth getting out. He couldn't draw too much attention to himself.

Now here he was, (sure, accidentally), doing the exact opposite.

A blonde man wearing what Vanitas assumed was a mechanic's outfit then joined the young boy at the front of the crowd.

"D'ya need some help?" the blonde guy called out to Vanitas.

"Nah," he responded. "I got this."

Vanitas then used his powers to open up a bit of the gutters so they let out his ankle. He then proceeded to fall, which freaked out most of the crowd. He then rotated his body forward, like he was finishing a flip, and made it so he was gonna land on his feet.

"Yeah," Vanitas said as he fell. "That's how we do th-"

Unfortunately, as he was falling, he hadn't taken into consideration his jacket hood. Or the little rod sticking out of the wall that had somehow missed hitting his body on the way down. He was okay, but the rod caught on his jacket hood and held him there.

"Not how I expected that to go," Vanitas muttered to himself.

Vanitas then adjusted himself in his jacket, and slipped through at the bottom. He fell the remaining feet down to the ground, landing on his feet. Without his jacket, his V neck short sleeved T-shirt was made clear. His bandana somehow managed to stay on, though, so that was cool.

Vanitas looked around and saw that the little brunette boy had walked over to him.

"How did you get up there?" the boy asked.

Vanitas looked up to where his jacket was hanging, then back down to the boy.

"I have no idea," he admitted.

"Are you..." the boy started. "... a superhero?"

"Squall," the blonde man said as he walked towards them. "Hate to be the one to break it to ya, but superheroes ain't real."

"Yes, they are!" the little boy, Squall, snapped. "I know they're real. And, for the last time, it's Leon!"

"Uh," Vanitas said. "How do you get Leon from Squall?"

Leon looked up at him. "My name is Squall Leonhart."

Vanitas paused. "That is the coolest name I have ever heard."

"Thanks," Leon smiled. "What's your name?"

"Vanitas Jordan," Vanitas answered. "But my friends call me V."

"Nice to meet you, V," Leon said.

"Nice to meet you, too, Leon," Vanitas returned the kid's smile.

Before this could go any further, they heard a little high pitched scream. Vanitas had spent enough time with his nieces to recognize it as a little girl. He turned around to the entrance of a path into the town, just as a little brunette girl ran through.

"Aerith," Leon called out as he ran to the girl. "What's wrong?"

The little girl, Aerith, was out of breath from running, so her hands were on her knees. She gathered enough energy to look up at Leon.

"M-monsters," she coughed out. "They cornered Yuffie back in town square."

Monsters? Master Xehanort was right; Dark Vanitas had sent the Unversed here in an attack.

"I'll take care of it," Vanitas said as he ran into the entrance way.

"V!" he heard Leon call out.

"Don't be a hero, kid!" the older blonde guy yelled.

Vanitas ran through the town with determination. He wasn't gonna have any of these monsters hurt anyone, especially not little kids.

He reached the town square, and spotted out the large group of Flood Unversed cornering a black haired little girl across the way.

Vanitas summoned his Keyblade as he ran, and commenced a spell.

"Thunder!"

Large bolts of lightning then came down from the air, hitting all of the Floods, but, luckily, missing the girl. The Unversed dissipated immediately after the spell hit them.

Vanitas crouched down so he was eye lever with the little girl who stood shaking in her spot.

"Are you okay?" he asked her in a voice he saved for comforting his nieces.

The girl stammered out "I... I think so."

"Hey," Vanitas said. "It's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you. My name's Vanitas. What's yours?"

"I'm Yuffie," she suddenly yelled. "I'm gonna be a great ninja one day!"

"Well," Vanitas chuckled. "We all have our hopes and dreams. It's what we need to drive us."

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed. "Well, mine are gonna come true!"

"That's the spirit," Vanitas said.

Suddenly, Vanitas could sense a large amount of Negativity suddenly appear in the area. He straightened up and turned around just in time to see more Unversed start appearing in the lower part of the town square. He turned briefly to the little girl.

"Get outta here!" he snapped. "I'll take care of these guys!"

The little girl stood up straight and did not hesitate running away from this.

Vanitas turned back towards the Unversed and jumped up so he was now in front of them.

"All right, you freaks," he said, getting in his battle stance. "Come get some."

A small group of Floods ran towards Vanitas. He did a sideways slash, taking out three at once, then started a combo attack. With that, he managed to take out two soldier Unversed with no problem. Vanitas then launched an orb of Blizzard towards a red pot looking Unversed. This made it so when Vanitas had enough energy for a Command Style, it ended up being ice related. Vanitas then started combo attacking the various Unversed with Ice based attacks due to the Command Style. Then, once he got enough energy for it, used the Command Style's finish move to severely attack the Unversed with lots of ice.

Once the energy wore off, Vanitas turned around to see a balloon looking Unversed turned into a giant rolling ball, covered in red energy.

"Uh..." Vanitas said, uncertainly.

The Unversed then got close enough to Vanitas, then exploded right in front of him. The blast knocked him back, so he did a backflip and landed on one knee.

"Okay," he said to himself. "Note to self, don't let that happen again."

Vanitas straightened up, just in time for an hourglass shaped Unversed to teleport in front of him. The sand in the Unversed started falling down quickly, which made Vanitas think he didn't want to see what happened when it ran out. So, he attacked it by encasing his Keyblade in fire, then threw it at the Unversed. Vanitas then rushed forward into a downwards slash, then an upwards side slash. After this, the Unversed dissipated.

Vanitas looked around and saw that the Unversed had surrounded him, all of them in varying sizes. Vanitas knew that there was still some weird stuff going on, so he decided to end this quick.

Light then surrounded Vanitas, and he held his Keyblade with both his hands. An orb of light then grew at the tip of his Keyblade, and slowly started to grow. He then put a good amount of energy into the attack, and the light grew more quickly, and ended up covering the entire area. This light gave off a wave of comfort and serenity. This brought a smile to Vanitas' face.

Eventually, the light died down, and all of the Unversed were gone.

"Whoa..."

Vanitas looked to his right and saw Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and the blonde guy standing at the top of the ramp. Leon held Vanitas' jacket in his hands, Aerith looked at him in awe, the blonde guy looked impressed, and Yuffie looked at him with stars in her eyes. That one confused him.

Leon walked over to Vanitas with his jacket.

"That was amazing," he said. "What was that?"

"Serenity," Vanitas answered. "It wipes out all danger, and leaves nothing put pure peace."

"Awesome," Leon said. He then offered Vanitas his jacket. "Here. It fell of the rod, so I figured you'd want it back."

"Thanks," Vanitas said as he took his jacket. "You helped me a lot by doing that."

"Well," Leon smiled. "You saved Yuffie, so, it was the least I could do."

Vanitas then turned to look at the black haired girl.

"Are you okay, Yuffie?" he asked her.

She laughed. "I'm fine now."

Vanitas was starting to get a little uncomfortable with how she was looking at him.

"Gotta admit, kid," the blonde guy said. "That was mighty impressive. You ran out here without any consideration for yourself."

"Yeah, well," Vanitas said as he put his jacket on. "I've got nieces and nephews, and I know how much it would hurt my siblings if something happened to them. So, I really don't like it when people try to hurt kids."

"I respect that," the blonde guy said. "I'm Cid."

"Vanitas," Vanitas said. "And thank you. This whole time, I've been referring to you in my head as 'the blonde guy.'"

Everyone then burst out laughing.

"So, uh," Vanitas started once the laughing died down. "Have any of you guys seen anymore of those things around here?"

"Well," Aerith said. "We were looking around when we saw some of them around the front doors of the castle."

Vanitas followed where Aerith was pointing to see a large set of double doors locked with a chain in front of a large staircase.

"I'll take care of them," Vanitas said, determined.

"You're leaving?" Leon asked, worried.

Vanitas looked at the little kid. He could sense a strong light in the young boy, filled with courage and determination. He smiled, and leaned forward so he was eye level with the boy.

"Don't worry about me," he reaffirmed Leon. "I've faced bigger ones than that before. I can take care of 'em. I'll be back. I promise."

This made Leon smile, so Vanitas patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm gonna hold you to that promise," Leon said.

Vanitas laughed. "I expected nothing more."

Vanitas then looked at the others, still smiling. They all smiled back, but Yuffie burst out into a fit of giggles. That still confused Vanitas, but he'd figure it out later.

Vanitas turned and started walking over to the gates. He heard Aerith whispering to Yuffie.

"How's he gonna get over the gate?"

Vanitas decided to answer her question by showing her. He ran towards the gate, and he leaped up. He added in his strength into it, and ended up going right over the gate. He did a front flip over it, and landed on his feet on the other side. Vanitas turned back around and looked back at the group through the gate, all of them with their jaws dropped in surprise.

"That's how," Vanitas called out to them.

Vanitas' friends then laughed as he turned back around and started walking up the stairs.

"God, I love my life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read on the Kingdom Hearts wiki that they had wanted to include a young Leon in Radiant Garden during Birth by Sleep, but then they decided against it for some reason. So, I thought I'd do something with it.


	13. Radiant Garden II: The True Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paths are crossed, and enemies are fought. But let's see how it happens this time.

Vanitas walked up the stairs up until he came to another closed gate. He gathered up a bit more strength and jumped even higher over this one. Partly due to the stairs leaving him at a lower level in front of this gate than he was in front of the last one.

Once he was over the gate, he walked up the remaining stairs, right into a scene that left his jaw dropped.

In the little courtyard, halfway up the path to the door, stood Aqua with her Keyblade drawn. Behind Aqua stood a little redheaded girl holding some flowers. In front of Aqua were hordes of Flood Unversed practically frothing at the mouth.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

Vanitas summoned his Keyblade and charged forward just as a Flood jumped up in a wide arc towards Aqua.

Then Mickey jumped up out of nowhere and slashed the Flood.

Right in front of Mickey, another Flood jumped up out of the ground to face him. So, to help out his new friend, Vanitas threw his Keyblade in a Strike Raid attack. The Keyblade struck down the Unversed and flew back into Vanitas' hand just as he reached his friends.

"V?" Aqua asked in surprise.

"What's up, Aqua?" Vanitas asked as he stood in his battle stance.

Mickey then turned to Aqua.

"Hurry!" he said. "Ya gotta get that girl to someplace that's safe."

Aqua stared at the mouse, questions undoubtedly flying through her head.

"Who are you?" she decided to start with. "Why do you have a Keyblade?"

"I'll tell you later," Mickey said, facing her. "Right now, we gotta stop these things!"

"Get her outta here," Vanitas said to Aqua, urgently. "Now!"

Aqua picked up the girl, and carried her back down the path and down the stairs. Vanitas and Mickey stood side by side in their battle stances as the Floods made an arc around the two. Mickey grunted in determination, then looked up in surprise to see Aqua had joined the two of them and was getting into her battle stance.

"Everything all right?" Mickey asked.

Aqua nodded to Mickey, then turned to Vanitas to nod at him. Vanitas nodded back, and they all looked towards the Floods.

"Let's get 'em!" Mickey declared.

"Right!" Aqua and Vanitas agreed.

The three then charged forward and started doing their own various attacks. Aqua started off by doing a combo. Mickey launched some orbs of light towards a Flood from his Keyblade. Vanitas jumped up into the air, and sent lightning out of his hand down towards two Floods at the same time.

After the Floods had been destroyed, soldier looking Unversed teleported into the area, followed closely by the flying elemental pots.

The three then knew they had to start being quicker. Mickey started doing a wicked looking combo, getting as many soldiers as he could. Aqua and Vanitas stood side by side, as light gathered around them. The light then lifted the two into the air, as their Keyblades were brought together. The blades then transformed into two separate halves of one giant blade with two hilts in it. Aqua's half was blue, Vanitas' half was red. The two held their separate hilts, then continued to float in the air as they slashed through the hordes, taking out multiple soldiers and elemental pots. After they had used up the energy needed for this attack, the light died down, and the giant blade transformed back into their respective Keyblades.

As a final wave then started appearing on the field, Mickey then had light gather around him as he yelled "Let's team up!"

The two Keyblade Masters jumped towards Mickey, and, once again, Vanitas found himself surrounded by two of his friends as they floated in the air surrounded by light, spinning in a circle, blasting more light from their Keyblades. Vanitas was starting to like this team attack. As they floated around, they managed to take out soldiers, floating pots, those odd balloon like Unversed, and those hourglasses that none of them wanted to see would do when the sand ran out. Once again, they ended the attack by grouping together and launching little shards of light towards the remaining Unversed.

The three Keyblade wielders then gathered in the center of the area, with that little girl joining them. Vanitas and Aqua faced Mickey, as the girl stood behind him. Both of them kneeled down so that they were eye level with Mickey.

"Thank you," Aqua said to the mouse. "My name is Aqua, and this is Vanitas. We train under Master Eraqus."

"And I'm Mickey," the mouse introduced himself. "I sort of already met Vanitas before, with Ventus."

Aqua then looked at Vanitas, questions very evident on her face.

"I'll tell you later," Vanitas explained.

"I used to be Yen Sid's apprentice," Mickey continued. "I came back to him for some more training."

Aqua did a slight nod to Mickey, then looked up to the girl standing behind her. Vanitas hadn't realized earlier due to the battle, but a very large light spike somewhere in the area. He used his radar to pinpoint it's location, and was surprised to discover is was right in front of him... standing behind Mickey.

The light in this girl was stronger than even the light within Ventus. Vanitas thought it was impossible for someone to have more light in them than his friend, but now he had been proven wrong.

"I sense light within this girl," Aqua said to Mickey. "You think that's why they attacked her?"

"Yep," Mickey said, determination growing on his face. "I think ya might be absolutely right. If ya ask me, she must be somebody pretty extraordinary."

"If you ask me, too," Vanitas agreed. "The spikes i felt in her were even stronger than the ones I sensed in Ven."

Aqua looked surprised at this. Mickey looked confused.

"I was born with the ability to sense spikes of light and spikes of darkness," Vanitas explained. "I can use it to try to determine whether people or places are strong with the light or the darkness."

Mickey nodded at this, impressed.

"Anyway," Aqua continued, determination on her face as well. "I'm certain she's someone we're supposed to protect."

"Let's join forces!" Mickey said, enthusiastically.

"I'm down for that!" Vanitas agreed.

Suddenly, a bright light grew from inside Mickey's pocket, and started to cover him.

"Oh no, not now!" Mickey exclaimed before the light completely engulfed him.

The three others looked on in surprise.

"I'll be okay!" Mickey's voice announced from the light.

The light quickly died as a smaller orb of light flew into the air, looking like it was occasionally bumping into something.

"See ya real soon!" Mickey's slightly faded voice came from the light as it flew through the air.

The three looked on in amazement at where the orb had dissipated from.

"Man," Vanitas muttered. "He's gonna have to learn how to get a handle on that thing fast."

Before Aqua could ask him what that meant, the girl finally decided to say something.

"Here," she said as she held out the flowers Vanitas just now remembered she was holding to Aqua.

"Are these for me?" she asked, surprised.

The girl nodded. "I picked you some flowers. Thank you for saving me."

Vanitas internally questioned how the girl knew that she'd be meeting Aqua. He chalked it up to the light within her. Aqua took the flowers from the girl with a smile on her face.

"Oh, they're lovely," Aqua said. "You're so sweet."

"My name's Kairi," the girl said. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too." Aqua said. "I'm Aqua, and this is Vanitas."

Vanitas waved at Kairi and smiled when she waved back.

"Kairi," Aqua started. "About that light-"

"Kairi!" an older woman interrupted Aqua as she walked up to the top of the stairs.

The three turned towards the woman.

"Oh!" Kairi said. "Grandma!"

"Wait," Aqua said. "Kairi, just a minute..."

Aqua then tapped a little orb necklace that Kairi was wearing. Light then glowed from the orb.

"I just cast a magic spell on you," Aqua explained. "One day when you're in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another. Someone to keep you safe."

Vanitas could tell by the look on the girl's face that she didn't understand a thing Aqua was saying. But, she still smiled at it.

"Thanks," Kairi said, happily.

She then ran over to her grandmother.

"There you are," the old lady said. "It's time to go."

"'Kay!" Kairi said. Then she turned back to the two Keyblade wielders and waved. "Bye!"

Both Vanitas and Aqua chuckled and waved back.

Both of them had pretty good hearing, so they were able to hear Kairi ask her grandma to tell her a story. After some persistence, her grandma agreed to it.

"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light."

As she told the story, Vanitas suddenly had flashes to dreams he had been having lately. He didn't understand what they were, but now that he was hearing this story along with it, they made a little bit of sense for him. First he saw a man in a black coat standing on a cliff face with flowers all around his feet, petals flying with the breeze past him. Then a girl in pink robes wearing a fox mask looking in a beaker at a really tiny cat like people. She was talking with the guy with the coat, and four others, each wearing other animal masks. One a leopard, one a bear, one a serpent, and one a unicorn. 

"Everyone loved the light."

The cat like creature was talking with the girl in pink.

"Then people began to fight over it."

Bear Mask and Fox Mask were talking about something around a round table with the others.

"They wanted to keep it for themselves."

Two people in front of a fountain got into battle stances holding Keyblades, with a third guy in the background looking surprised at them. He then rushed forward, and stopped them from attacking each other with his own Keyblade. Then Serpent Mask and Bear Mask battled each other Keyblade to Keyblade.

"And darkness was born in their hearts."

Bear Mask and Leopard Mask started battling each other.

"The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts."

Fox Mask reached the two just as Leopard Mask fell onto the ground. Then, there was a dark, barren familiar looking wasteland with various Keyblades all around.

"It covered everything, and the world disappeared."

Small orbs of light then flew up into the air, right up to a very bright moon in the sky. This image then backed up to show the lower leg of a man wearing another black cloak, with a familiar looking Keyblade against the ground.

"But..."

A grey haired young boy wearing a red scarf then showed. Wolf Mask was talking to a large group of young people.

"...small fragments of light survived. In the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world."

The grey haired boy was shaking hands with a familiar looking blonde boy in the center of the wasteland, with Keyblades all around them. The grey haired boy and four others were in the main chamber from earlier.

"It's the world we live in now."

The images faded to white.

"But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness."

Vanitas and Aqua then remembered the world they had been to so far. Castle of Dreams...

"That's why the worlds are still scattered."

Enchanted Dominion...

"Divided from each other."

Dwarf Woodlands...

"But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open."

The Land of Departure...

"And the true light will return. So listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you."

"Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with it's power, and push the darkness away."

Kairi nodded, and the two then started to walk down the stairs.

Both Vanitas and Aqua smiled at where the two had left.

"Kairi..." Aqua said as she held up the flowers. "Something tells me we didn't run into her by accident."

"She reminds me of my niece," Vanitas laughed.

Aqua smiled. Then paused.

"Which one?" she asked.

Vanitas looked at her. "The one who's spirit animals are a unicorn, and My Little Pony."

The two of them chuckled at that. As they stood there, Vanitas thought about the images he had seen during that story. It couldn't have been a coincidence. The story and what he had seen were connected somehow. Maybe they were both about the...

No, he couldn't just come to that conclusion. There had to be more to it that he could figure out later.

There was something that confused him, though. If his suspicions were correct, then this event would had to have happened nearly a hundred years ago. But the blonde boy that was familiar...

There was no doubt in Vanitas' mind that that was Ventus. 

But if he's right, then how could Ventus be here today, but also be there back then, all those years ago?

* * *

"So you came here trying to find a boy that didn't look like he was around from here?" Vanitas asked as they walked over to the stairs.

"Well, yeah," Aqua said. "I was looking for Terra, and the man told me that he had gone up here."

"And you just assumed he was talking about Terra?" Vanitas asked. "He could have meant someone else. Maybe even Ven."

"Oh," Aqua said, exasperated. "I ran into Ven, and I told him to go home. I'm sure he listened to me and did it."

Vanitas gave her a look that clearly asked "Do you really believe that?"

"Yeah, I didn't even believe that myself," Aqua admitted.

"Aqua," Vanitas said as they stopped at the top of the stairs. "You know as well as I do that Ven is strong. Maybe even as strong as us. He could handle himself out here."

Aqua looked down. "I know that, but, I just don't want him to get hurt."

"So?" Vanitas asked. "That's the thing every parent has to learn: they can't protect their children forever. One day, they have to let go so that they can protect themselves."

"I know, I know," Aqua said. "But, the Master is still adamant. He wants Ven to be back home, so that he can be safe. And he's just looking out for us."

Vanitas remembered what he and the Master were talking about before he left. He remembered that the Master had all but admitted he was trying to keep Ventus at the Land of Departure forever to intentionally keep him weak. Vanitas thought that it was messed up that he was doing all of this and not even giving them a good enough reason for it. It kind of hurt a little to hear Aqua agree with the Master's intentions, even if she didn't completely know the real reason.

Then, Vanitas got an idea. He didn't want to just come out with the reason, and ruin the way Aqua viewed the Master. After all, despite all of the lies, he was like a father to all of them. So, he decided to be subtle.

"Yeah," Vanitas agreed. "He always wants the best for us."

"Yeah," Aqua agreed. "He wants us to be safe."

Vanitas nodded and looked down. "It's just a shame that he keeps so many secrets."

Aqua looked at him suspiciously at that.

"What secrets?" Aqua asked.

Vanitas looked up innocently.

"Did I say that out loud?" he asked, slowly. Internally, he was congratulating himself for this.

"He keeps secrets from us?" Aqua asked.

"Well," Vanitas said. "Some things that he doesn't want anyone to know. Some things he won't even tell  _me._ And I've been a Master for two years."

Aqua was surprised at this.

"What kinds of things does he have to keep secret from us?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Vanitas admitted. "But it scares me to think of it."

Aqua looked on with confusion growing on her face. This was entirely new information to her, and she wasn't sure where to go with it.

Aqua then looked over Vanitas' shoulder and gasped. He turned around, and followed her gaze to an Unversed flying through the air with four little things that resembled helicopter blades.

"Unversed!" Aqua said, exasperated. "It never ends."

"God," Vanitas said, equally exasperated. "We need a vacation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I should mention, in this magma, I sort of have Vanitas' home world be modern day earth, with the only thing that isn't there is Kingdom Hearts. His family is there, so he will be referencing a lot of franchises and stuff from earth. In the later parts, most specifically, the band Fall Out Boy


	14. Radient Garden: Battles and Disgruntled Friendships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas fights someone new, and meets up with the rest of his friends. Unfortunately, it isn't a happy reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long. First my laptop was irreparably damaged, then when I finally got a new one, life happened so I didn't have a lot of time to update new chapters. Through this part, I decided to add something else from that fanfiction i mentioned where Roxas travelled to the past, and give Vanitas a new fighting buddy.

Vanitas followed Aqua down a staircase that led to what he assumed was the castle's personal garden. While he didn't see much of a point to the castle having a personal garden since the entire world was made up of gardens, Vanitas could understand why there was one. There were mini gardens around on the ground floor, then a side staircase that led up to other gardens, where the stairway they just walked out of led to, and a different staircase on the side that had a giant set of doors. Of course...

"Over there," Aqua announced after she looked around.

The aforementioned doors had crashed in, leading to a different area.

"Let's move," Aqua declared as she ran towards the stairs.

Vanitas followed her for a little while until he felt something odd. About halfway to the stairs, Vanitas stopped in his tracks and looked around, while Aqua continued up the stairs, not noticing the ravenette hadn't moved.

What Vanitas felt was different from the usual darkness spikes or light spikes. They were a good deal stronger than the usual darkness spikes or light spikes he felt around any world. Never before had he felt spikes that were so balanced, or so powerful from local residents of a random world.

It took a while, but Vanitas finally managed to figure out where the spikes were originating.

"I take it you're Vanitas," a scratchy, calm, and collected voice asked from behind him.

The ravenette turned around to face the man behind him. The man was a little taller than Vanitas, but that was to be expected. Half the people he knew were taller than him. The man had dark black hair made up into a mullet. He wore a purple uniform with pointed shoulders and lots of buttons. With the uniform were black boots, white gloves with purple heart designs on the, and a withering away red scarf. He had brown eyes and a face that looked older than it probably was.

"Depends on whose asking," Vanitas said, on edge.

"Well," the man said. "My acquaintances call me Braig, but I guess I can make an exception in your case."

"Good, cause we just met," Vanitas said. "I think it would be a little early to call us acquaintances."

"Well," Braig said, his arms crossed. "You DO happen to be acquaintances with that old coot, and any acquaintance of his is an acquaintance of mine."

This put Vanitas even more on edge.

"You know that old jerk?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Well," Braig said, modestly. "He recruited me to help out with his plans. I agreed immediately when I got the idea of going to wherever the heck I want."

"It's not worth it," Vanitas warned, quickly. "Whatever the old guy is trying to do, it's gonna have disastrous consequences on people everywhere."

Braig gave him a look that sarcastically said "Oh, really?"

"That was one of the first things he promised me, kid," Braig said. "We can spread chaos to whatever world we desire. Now that just sounds like an interesting idea."

Vanitas' suspicion quickly turned to determination.

"Then I'm gonna have to stop you," Vanitas said. He summoned his Keyblade and held it to the side.

"You can try," Braig said, smugly. "Honestly, I've been wanting to fight a Keyblade wielder ever since the old coot told me about you guys."

Braig uncrossed his arms, and two crossbow looking weapons appeared in his hands in a flash of purple light.

Vanitas got in his battle stance...

Then Braig disappeared.

Vanitas looked around in confusion before he heard Braig's taunting voice.

"I can see you..."

Vanitas took this as a warning sign, so he jumped up into a front flip. Just in time, as a bunch of diamond shaped projectiles flew past him. Just as he was about to land on his feet, Vanitas did a slash to the last dart like projectile, launching it back to the person who fired it. On his feet, Vanitas turned around to see that Braig was on top of the wall, his crossbows pointed at the ravenette.

Vanitas retaliated by launching a big ball of fire towards Braig. It exploded on impact, but Vanitas could tell through the spikes that the man had teleported away right before the fire could hit him.

The man in question teleported a few feet in front of Vanitas and started shooting those darts at him. Vanitas blocked them all, and ran forward to attack at Braig. He managed to attack the man with a full combo before he teleported away once again. The darts were then shot into Vanitas' back in quick secession. Vanitas used this opportunity to leave behind an image.

"Nice try," Vanitas said as he teleported behind Braig and side slashed the man. The image of Vanitas faded as the man reeled away in response to the attack.

"Impressive," Braig said, actually sounding impressed. "He said you had great abilities, but I had no idea you could teleport, too!"

"Try smiling after I bash your face in," Vanitas said as he ran forward.

Braig teleported away again just as Vanitas did a side slash. Vanitas then rolled out of the way just as more darts were shot at him. In retaliation, he shot ice towards where he could tell Braig was. Braig groaned in pain, signifying the ice hit him, then teleported above Vanitas. Literally. He was floating right above Vanitas, shooting his crossbows down at him. The darts all hit Vanitas, which made him groan in pain in return. Vanitas looked up at the man floating in the air.

"Thunder!" Vanitas yelled as he launched up a blast of electricity.

"Ha!" Braig said as the electricity flew up past him. "You missed!"

The lightning then came back down and struck Braig, which made him stutter as it electrocuted him. He then collapsed to the ground.

"Oh, you're getting slow, old man," Vanitas said tauntingly as he walked over to Braig. "You should be careful. You don't wanna break something."

Braig then suddenly teleported away. Vanitas used his senses to find him on top of that wall behind him again.

"You won this round," Braig announced. "But you won't be so lucky next time!"

The man teleported once again, but this time Vanitas couldn't sense his spikes anywhere. Figuring it was now safe, Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade.

_What a weird guy,_ Vanitas thought as he contemplated things.

That guy seemed pretty powerful, but he wasn't much of a fighter. Why exactly would Xehanort recruit a guy like that?

Thinking all of this, Vanitas almost forgot about Aqua and that Unversed. He remembered when he could sense that a large amount of negativity had suddenly been dissipated by two powerful lights, and one light that was in combat with a darkness. His friends!

Vanitas ran up that other staircase and through the smashed doors. He found out that this doorway lead to what looked like a standard power station for a city. He stood on top of a ledge that was above the ground where the power reactors were. In the center of it stood Vanitas' three friends. Terra held his hand on Ventus' shoulder while the other two looked at him, confused. Vanitas knew something odd was going on, so he decided to lighten the tension.

He jumped off the ledge, yelled in a goofy voice, "Dooh, Bwah!" The second part he yelled as he landed on the ground in a roll.

His three friends looked towards the origin of the noise and Aqua and Ventus laughed when they realized it was Vanitas.

"What," Aqua stammered as she laughed. "What was the reason for that?"

Vanitas stood up, a smile on his face as he looked down.

"This movie I saw when I was a kid," he explained. "It had an actor called Matthew McConaughey. The movie sucked, but he made that noise as he jumped on a car. Best part of that whole darn movie."

The mood was quickly spoiled when Terra stomped over to Vanitas and summoned his Keyblade, pointing it right at Vanitas' neck.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vanitas yelled as he held his arms up in surrender.

Aqua and Ventus ran forwards, fearful for Vanitas as Terra looked at him with pure anger.

"Terra," Ventus asked, afraid. "What are you doing?"

"I'm about to finish this," Terra announced.

The man's tone of voice actually scared Vanitas, which was really saying something. Having grown up watching every horror movie ever made, Vanitas never got scared anymore.

"Terra," Aqua yelled. "Be reasonable! Vanitas is our friend!"

"He's the boy in the mask!" Terra yelled at Aqua. "Master Xehanort told me that he's nothing but pure darkness."

Aqua was shocked as Terra yelled this at her. Ventus, who had encountered the masked boy before, understood what was happening. After all, he had had similar thoughts in his own head earlier.

"Vanitas and I fought the guy in the mask!" he yelled. "Both of us. Together!"

This led to Terra looking at Ventus in surprise.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"It's true," Vanitas explained. "This guy showed up, and Ven and I decided to fight him three to one."

When Aqua looked confused by this statement, Vanitas quickly explained, "That was how I met Mickey."

Aqua nodded in understanding.

Terra looked confused.

"But, then... how...?"

"Simple case, Terra," Vanitas explained. "A creature of darkness is born then acquires a Keyblade. That creature then steals its Keyblade's design from another guy's Keyblade. To make things even worse, this creature then steals the fighting styles from the aforementioned other guy. Then, to really drive it home, this creature then decided to steal this other guy's NAME. Leading to a whole mess of anger and confusion."

Terra looked like he was finally understanding all of this, so he dissipated his Keyblade.

"V, I..." Terra said, feeling guilty. "I am SO sorry."

"I know you are..." Vanitas said.

He then punched Terra in the chest with only about a quarter of the strength he had. It was still enough to cause Terra to double over in pain.

"...Buzzkillington."

Once some of the pain lessoned, Terra straightened up again and turned to Ventus.

"Ven," he announced, talking through the remains of the pain. "You let Aqua take you home."

"No way," Ventus said, gesturing with his hands. "I wanna go with you guys."

"He's definitely earned the right," Vanitas agreed. "He's proved himself more than once."

Terra ignored Vanitas.

"You can't," he said to Ventus. "We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you to get hurt."

Aqua, who had been looking back and forth to everyone who had been talking, finally spoke up.

"And what is this dangerous task, Terra?" she asked, skeptically. "Does it have to do with this fake Vanitas? It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do."

That confirmed to Vanitas that she didn't take heed to anything he had told her back in front of the castle doors.

"It might be a different route," Terra said. "But I'm fighting the darkness."

"I'm not so sure." Aqua said. "I've been to the same worlds as you and, I've seen what you've done."

Vanitas immediately thought of Princess Aurora back in Enchanted Dominion, when the witch Maleficent controlled Terra to steal her heart. If Aqua had been there, what had Maleficent told her?

"You shouldn't put yourself so close to the darkness," Aqua told the frowning face of Terra.

Ventus interjected at this.

"Listen to yourself, Aqua. Terra would never-"

"You mean you've been spying on me?" Terra asked. "Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?"

"He was only..." Aqua didn't finish as she looked down, trying to find the right words.

Vanitas looked confused. "I was there that whole conversation. What led you to think he wanted us to spy on him? I thought he just told us to check in once in a while to make sure he's okay."

"Aqua..." Ventus said, looking down in sadness.

"I get it," Terra said as he turned and started walking towards the way out.

"Terra," Ventus announced as he started running towards Terra, only to be stopped by the man in question.

"Just stay put!" he yelled as he stopped for a second.

"I'm on my own now, all right?"

With that Terra continued walking towards a staircase.

"Terra, please!" Aqua announced as Terra kept walking. "Listen! The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried."

Terra ignored them completely as he continued towards the staircase.

"You're awful, Aqua," Ventus said, looking at her.

Vanitas said nothing, but the look on his face clearly gave off what he was thinking to the blunette. He saw through his peripheral vision that she had gripped her Wayfinder tighter. Wait, since when was she holding that thing?

Aqua turned to look at Ventus.

"So now you know the truth," she told him. "But the Master loves Terra, and you know that, too."

Ventus, who had been looking down thinking things, then looked up at her.

"Were you also 'ordered' to take me home?" he asked.

Aqua looked down, not saying anything. The blonde looked to Vanitas, remembering how he had told him that the Master told him to bring him home, and that gave him his answer.

"Aqua..." Ventus said. "Now that you're a Keyblade Master, you've let it go to your head."

"I'm gonna go find Terra," he said with determination.

The blonde then ran towards the staircase, determined to find his friend.

After a few seconds of standing with a quiet Aqua, Vanitas announced, "I'm going with him."

Vanitas then ran after his best friend, leaving Aqua alone. As he started going up the stairs, he could faintly hear Aqua whisper "Terra... Ven... V..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry this took so long. Now that I have a lot more free time, chapters should become a normal thing once again. Oh, and the movie that Vanitas was talking about was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. I've noticed a lot of people don't like that movie, but my favorite YouTuber, James A. Janisse at Dead Meat finds that noise McConaughey's character, Vilmer, makes when he jumps on a car, and it's not hard to see why. It is pretty funny


	15. Radiant Garden: Fighting with Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas battles a few adversaries with his partners, and he and Ventus make a few new friends

Vanitas ran through the town in an attempt to try to catch up with Ventus. Taking out Unversed along the way, he ran though the rest of the power station, along with a giant area made up of a lot of powerful spraying fountains. Once he had left that area, he reached what looked like a neighborhood. To his right was a very large, very odd looking house, to his left were a couple of Moogles with their shops. Those Moogles always made him laugh at how adorable they could be.

Before he could proceed, someone called out and got his attention.

"Well, this is a nice surprise. I haven't met a Keyblade Master in a little while."

Vanitas turned towards the house to see an older man. He wore a light blue robe, a just as blue curved cap, and round glasses. His silver hair was short but spikey in the back, his beard was pointed and reached below his knees, his eyebrows were only a little bushy, and his mustache was very prominent. He had very little wrinkles on his face, but gave off the aura of one who enjoyed fun.

Vanitas knew who he was.

"Merlin the Wizard!" he exclaimed in amazement.

Vanitas had heard of Merlin on one of his travels, and was amazed by what the man had done throughout his life. He kneeled down, and held his arm across his chest.

"It truly is an honor to be in your presence."

"Now, now," Merlin chuckled as he gestured to Vanitas. "You don't need to do that. I am but just a man. Like you."

Vanitas looked up with an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Uh, yes. Okay," he said as he stood back up.

"Two other Keyblade wielders were here before," Merlin said as he stroked his beard. "And I'm sure there will be another one after you."

Vanitas thought about his friends. He had a feeling it was Terra and Ventus who had already been here, and Aqua who hadn't arrived yet. For some reason, that seemed to be the way these things worked.

"If you want," Merlin said. "I have a book inside you can read that will awaken the powers within you. You can read as much as you want, lad. But be sure to get to where you need in time."

Merlin turned around and started walking towards his house.

"Uh," Vanitas stammered out. "Th-thank you!"

Merlin entered his house and closed the door.

"A book can do that?" Vanitas asked himself.

Curious, Vanitas entered the house at Merlin's invitation and found the book sitting on a mantle. It was pretty obvious with the way it was positioned. Vanitas picked up the book and opened it, and a glare of light shone in his face. It was so bright he had to cover his eyes. The light faded, and the book was back on the mantle, closed once again.

_That was weird_ , Vanitas thought.

Merlin was looking at him with a big smile on his face, so Vanitas guessed that that was what was supposed to happen.

"Well, uh..." Vanitas said, uncertainly. "Thank you again."

Merlin nodded at him, and Vanitas left the house.

"Okay?" Vanitas asked himself as he continued running after Ventus.

The run led Vanitas back to the courtyard where he had helped that little girl. A young boy wearing a lab coat with purple hair covering most of his face was running away from the center of the courtyard where Ventus who stood surrounded by Flood Unversed. Vanitas ran towards the center, summoned his Keyblade and jumped over the Floods to join Ventus in a battle stance.

"V," Ventus said in surprise. "When'd you get here?"

"Just now!" Vanitas joked as they stood in their battle stances.

They both went in different ways to take out the Unversed. Ventus started out by doing a combo that proceeded though attacking two or three Floods. Vanitas used a spell that put some of them to sleep. As ridiculous as the idea of using this spell seemed, it worked. He then shot up electricity, which came down to attack as Thunder, taking out all of the Floods he put to sleep.

The two stood back to back as multiple Unversed appeared through their little portals. Multiple soldiers, a couple of plant like ones and one or two elemental pots.

Ventus used Aero to form a tornado that picked up a couple of soldiers and red and blue pots in a halo. As the halo dissipated, the Unversed that hadn't been destroyed yet fell together onto the ground. Ventus then used Thunder to attack them as they were still bunched together. Just one bit of lightning managed to take out two or three at once.

Vanitas did his usual rush forward, doing a downwards slash, and an upwards slash, taking out a soldier. Energy then launched out of the Keyblade and rushed in an arc to attack another Unversed, this time taking out a yellow pot. Unfortunately, he missed it when a blue pot came up behind him and shot ice right into his butt.

"Dah!" Vanitas exclaimed as he jumped away from the Unversed.

Ventus then attacked the pot and took it out in one swipe.

"You good?" Ventus asked.

"I guess," Vanitas said as he straightened back up into his fighting stance.

Another one of those odd hourglass like Unversed showed up next, along with some more of the yellow pots. Both boys made an effort to get to the hourglass, but the yellow pots rushed in and electrocuted the two back into the wall. Once they were sure they were okay, they noticed that the sand in the hourglass had all fallen to the bottom.

"I don't get it," Vanitas said, gesturing with his hand. "What exactly is the point of-"

 The hourglass then flared purple light on its top, and the two Keyblade Wielders were then frozen where they stood with a Stop spell. Little miniature clocks appeared over their heads, specifying the effects of the spell. The hourglass got close, and did a spinning attack, hitting both of the boys many times. Once the spell wore off, they then felt the effects and took damage from the attacks. They groaned in pain as Vanitas took a swipe at the hourglass, destroying it.

More Unversed then teleported in, joining the yellow pots. A couple were some more of the odd plant like ones, a soldier or two, and some more of the odd balloon ones.

"Oh, screw this," Vanitas said as he straightened up. "Ven, you remember that meteor attack I told you about?"

"Yeah, why?" Ventus asked.

"Just giving you a heads up," Vanitas said as he raised his Keyblade.

Energy flowed from Vanitas' Keyblade, and a bright light filled the area. Up in the air, a meteor came down and basked the entire area in light as it reached the ground. Unfortunately, once the light had faded, one of the balloon Unversed was still alive, turned into a rolling ball covered in red energy.

"Duck!" Vanitas yelled as the Unversed started to get close.

Ventus and Vanitas rolled our of the way just in time for the Unversed to explode.

Vanitas looked at his friend.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I think so," Ventus answered, sounding tired.

Vanitas pulled two Potions out of his jacket pocket.

"Here, take this," Vanitas said, tossing the Potion to Ventus.

Ventus caught the Potion as Vanitas opened his.

The young boy with blue hair walked over to them as they finished drinking their Potions. Suddenly, they heard a slightly high pitched voice somewhere nearby.

"Ienzo, where are you?"

The two dismissed their Keyblades and turned to see a man with long blonde hair wearing a lab coat on the upper part of the courtyard.

"Answer me," he called out again.

He then turned and walked over to the little group when he saw the young boy.

"Ah, there you are," he said to the boy that they figured was Ienzo.

"Didn't I warn you not to wander off, child?" the man asked Ienzo as he reached the little group.

The guy seemed a little odd to Vanitas, especially since he didn't get much when he tried to detect darkness or light spikes within him.

The man then turned to the two Keyblade Wielders.

"I see we owe you our thanks," he said to them. "We have done our best to raise the boy... since his poor parents are not here to do it."

Vanitas looked sympathetically towards Ienzo.

"Oh," Ventus said. "You're on your own, huh?"

"Hey, it's alright," Vanitas tried consoling the boy. "You got these guys trying their best to be there for you..." Vanitas looked up at the man then back to Ienzo. "... and that's more than most people get. Try to find something good with your new life."

Ienzo's expression didn't change at all, so Vanitas wasn't sure he got through to the boy.

"Sir," Ventus said to the man. "We're looking for a friend of our's. He's a tall guy dressed kinda like us. Have you seen him?"

"Hmm..." the man thought for a second. " Perhaps I did see him in the Outer Gardens. Just follow this road."

He gestured to the road on the boys' left.

"Thank you," Ventus said to him.

"No, thank you," the man said. "For keeping Ienzo out of harm's way. And..." He turned. "... Well, let's say I have a feeling we are destined to cross paths again."

The man turned again and left with Ienzo right behind him, leaving the two boys confused at his words.

"Now I'm a little worried for that kid," Vanitas said once they were out of earshot.

"Well, let's go," Ventus said as he turned to face the road.

Vanitas started to turn to follow him, when he felt something. Familiar darkness spikes originating nearby.

"You go ahead," Vanitas said. "I gotta do something real quick."

Ventus looked at him for a second, confused, before he relented and ran down the road.

"Well, what do you know?" Vanitas asked himself once his friend was out of earshot. "The old cow was telling Terra the truth."

"V," Vanitas heard a voice call out behind him.

He turned to see Aqua running towards him. Once Aqua had reached him, he turned once again to see a young boy wearing a glass mask and a black and red bodysuit at the upper level of the courtyard, standing sideways at them. Dark Vanitas turned to face them.

"A mask?" Aqua gasped. "You're the boy that Ventus mentioned."

"Yep," Vanitas confirmed. "That's him."

"Ah yes, Ventus," Dark Vanitas said, ignoring Vanitas' words. "Tell me something, has he learned to put up a decent fight yet?"

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked.

"Remember, we fought him," Vanitas said.

"I'll be asking the questions," Dark Vanitas said harshly, gesturing with his arms.

He paused for a second.

"And why shouldn't I?" Dark Vanitas asked. "After all, between the three of us..."

He summoned his Keyblade as he talked and stood in his battle stance.

"I'm the only one who will walk away from here alive."

Aqua and Vanitas were both angered by this.

"Guess again!" Aqua declared as they summoned their Keyblades.

Dark Vanitas started the battle by yelling "Go!" and launching out a ball of fire. Aqua blocked it and tried to do a counter attack, but Dark Vanitas jumped out of the way before she could him him. He launched another fire ball, but Aqua cartwheeled through it and dodged as he tried to attack downwards then upwards. Aqua then did a triple attack, hitting him twice into the air, then once to try to knock him onto the ground. With the third attack, he left behind and image and tried to teleport behind Aqua. Vanitas interjected and blocked the attack for her.

The three then landed on the ground. Aqua ran in and did a combo on Dark Vanitas. Him being the idiot he was, just stood there and took all of the attacks, groaning in pain with each hit. Aqua dodged it as he tried rushing in for a low slash and an upward slash again. Vanitas then jumped up and sent down lightning from his hand in an attack, hitting Dark Vanitas, who then froze.

"Gotcha." Vanitas heard as Dark Vanitas teleported behind him with an attack. Through the attack, Vanitas left behind his own image.

"Not today," Vanitas exclaimed as he attacked Dark Vanitas from behind.

Aqua then launched fire at Dark Vanitas, which exploded on impact. She then entered into a fire based Command Style as he tried teleporting behind her. "Pathetic," the boy tried to get out before Aqua blocked his attack.

Aqua then strategically attacked him with a combo, knowing when to go in to hit him, when to dodge his attacks, and when to move out of the way when he tried teleporting behind her. Vanitas gathered that she had enough practice after fighting him for so long. Aqua then used a spell to pick up Dark Vanitas, then shook him around like a rag doll. Vanitas smiled as he was sure it really hurt the guy quite a bit.

During this, Aqua had been building up energy for her Command Style, and used it, barely hitting Dark Vanitas, but she at least managed to stop him from launching another fireball.

Vanitas then did a combo on Dark Vanitas, building up enough energy to do his finish. He encased his Keyblade in fire, and slashed at Dark Vanitas.

Aqua then used Magnet to pick up Dark Vanitas so he was right above her. She then summoned three pillars of fire around her, and attacked him with it. They could tell it was a finishing move because the groan he did was long and sounded full of pain.

Aqua panted as she and Vanitas stood a few front of the unconscious Dark Vanitas. Curious, Aqua walked over to Dark Vanitas, knelt down next to his head, and started to place her hand on his mask.

"Uh, Aqua," Vanitas started.

"Who are you?" Aqua asked.

Dark Vanitas then surprised them by laughing loudly like a madman. Aqua jumped back in surprised and summoned her Keyblade. (Wait, when did she dismiss her Keyblade?)

Vanitas stood in his battle stance with Aqua as Dark Vanitas stood up and faced the two.

"Not bad at all," he said, sounding impressed as a Dark Corridor opened behind him. "Congratulations. I'll keep you around."

Dark Vanitas turned around, facing the Corridor. "Never hurts to have a backup."

He walked through the Corridor, closing it behind him. Aqua and Vanitas dismissed their Keyblades.

"I have to stop him..." Aqua announced. "before anything happens to Terra and Ven."

Vanitas looked at her with a face that said "What you talking about?" Before he could tell her that that was already his mission, they heard a familiar young voice calling out to them.

"Aqua! V!"

They both turned to see Ventus running down the road towards them.

"Ven," Aqua said as he reached them. "Were you able to find him?"

"Yeah," Ventus said, sadly. "But... he's gone."

"Right," Aqua said, looking down, sadly.

"Then I can't stay here," she declared, looking up again.

"Let me go with you, Aqua," Ventus smiled.

"No, Ven," Aqua said, sternly. "Do as I say and go home."

Ventus looked sad again. Vanitas felt bad for him. Before he could say something to Aqua, Ventus spoke up.

"Why won't you let me?" he asked.

"I don't want to put you in harm's way," Aqua tried explaining.

"You understand?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. She took her hand off and turned to Vanitas. "Take him home yourself if he won't do it."

This made Vanitas mad. He had been a Keyblade Master for years. She had only been one for maybe a few days, and now she thinks she can order him around? What the heck?

Before Vanitas could say anything, Aqua pressed the button, summoning her armor. She walked away from the boys, summoned her glider, and flew into a portal.

Ventus and Vanitas stood together alone. Ventus still looked sad, while Vanitas didn't know what to do. Vanitas used his powers to sense that the negativity in the area had decreased dramatically. He guessed that most of the Unversed left after Dark Vanitas left.

"The area's safe for now," Vanitas said. "We can be here for a little while, then we gotta move on. I'm gonna go restock on Potions and get something to eat."

Vanitas walked back into the market place area to where the Moogles are. He talked to one name Nota and got a couple more Potions. Nota then directed him to another Moogle named Janus who had food. Janus insisted that they had pretty decent egg salad sandwiches, so Vanitas ordered one. As Vanitas waited for his sandwich, he heard a voice call out to him.

"You there, young lad!"

Vanitas turned to see a short, talking duck walking towards him. The duck was dressed well in a business suit, glasses, and a top hat. He walked towards Vanitas with a cane.

"You look like the kind of lad who enjoys adventure," the duck said as he reached Vanitas. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-"

"You're Scrooge McDuck," Vanitas interrupted him. "You're an entrepreneur that's always looking to increase your already massive fortune."

When Scrooge looked surprised at this, so Vanitas explained, "I travel to a lot of places. I've heard of you."

Scrooge laughed at this. "Well, that's fair. I guess I haven't been the most subtle with how I do things."

"No you have not," Vanitas laughed with him.

"You know," Scrooge said. "You're the third off-worlder I've met today, and let me just say, you have all been so nice!"

"Well, thanks" Vanitas said. "We were raised right."

"Well, praise to the one who raised you," Scrooge laughed.

"Heads up, though," Vanitas said. "Not all off-worlders are as nice as us."

"I know," Scrooge said. "That's why I have a ship ready to travel at any convenience."

"A ship?" Vanitas asked.

"Oh, yeah," Scrooge said. "Gummi ships. They're made out of materials called Gummi Blocks that can survive through space. Isn't that what you used to get here?"

"No, uh..." Vanitas thought for a bit. "I have my own way. I've never heard of these Gummi Blocks, though."

"Really?" Scrooge asked. "Huh. Forgive my saying, but, for a Keyblade Master, you don't know too much."

"It's alright," Vanitas said. There's stuff you still have to learn even as a Master."

This whole concept of Gummi Ships seamed so foreign to Vanitas, though. For some reason, though, he was a little convinced that he would never fly in one ever.

Janus then called to Vanitas that his sandwich was ready, which drew his attention. Vanitas picked up his sandwich wrapped in paper, and turned to Scrooge.

"Well, I should get going," he said. "I don't want to leave my friend waiting too long."

"Okay, then," Scrooge said. "Nice to meet you, lad!"

"Nice to meet you, too!" Vanitas called back as he walked away. It wasn't until later on when he realized he had never actually told Scrooge McDuck his name.

Vanitas walked back into the courtyard area to see Ventus standing in the center. He seemed happier as he watched two boys walking away from him. One had wild, spikey red hair, and the other had light blue hair that was a few spikes, but was more tame than the other boys'.

"Hey," Vanitas called out as he walked to Ventus. "What'd I miss."

Ventus smiled at where he last saw the boys then looked to Vanitas.

"Not much," he said, still smiling.

"You seem much happier," Vanitas observed.

"I made some friends," Ventus said.

"Okay," Vanitas said, happy. "Well, now we gotta go."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ventus said as he reached into his pocket.

"I got you this," he said as he presented a ticket to Vanitas.

"What is it?" Vanitas asked as he took the ticket.

"A lifetime pass to Disney Town," Ventus explained. "A talking duck gave some of them to me."

Vanitas smiled. "Of course he did."

Since he wanted things to slow down a bit, Vanitas agreed to go to the town with Ventus. The blonde cheered at that and they both summoned their armor and Glider. They flew through the portal into the Lanes Between.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That little thing about never traveling in a Gummi ship will be a silent joke later on


	16. It's a Small World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys visit Disney Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to get out chapters more frequently now. Not just because I want to get to Vanitas teaming up with Sora, Axel, Roxas, and Riku, but because I got this brilliant idea for a crossover of this series and another, well known movie series. More details will follow when I finally get there. But I'm sure you'll understand it when Vanitas thinks about someone he knew

Ventus and Vanitas entered the town of Disney Town, walking right into the town square. Their first indication that things were a little odd were the crazy decorations all over the place. Classic streamers hanging from roof to roof, most of them leading to a little chapel like resting place in the center. Ribbons hanging from different places along various walls. Big groups of balloons were hanging from various really high places. It confused the two how the people there managed to even get balloons hanging from a couple of chimneys.

They stood in front of a road for a second, both of them looking around for a bit. Then, all of a sudden, a large shape jumped in front of them, startling the two.

"Tada!" the figure yelled.

The figure was a giant, cat like creature wearing a superhero costume. He had on a mask, a cape, a belt, and everything.

"Wearin' the mask of peace and hope..." the figure said, with his back to them.

He turned to look at them. "... comes the fearless defender and hero of this town! It is me: Captain Justice!"

Ventus and Vanitas were both confused by this.

"Huh?" Ventus whispered. "Umm..."

"I can't tell if he's on drugs, drunk, or crazy," Vanitas whispered back. "Probably a combination."

"Young fellows," "Captain Justice" said as he walked over to the two. "Do my hero-senses detect that you got troubles? Just say the word and Captain Justice will make all your problems disappear."

As he reached the two of them, Ventus looked around in confusion.

"Wh-who, us?" he asked.

"Captain Justice" nodded, and Vanitas could hear him go "Meow."

Vanitas, of course, was skeptical of this guy.

"I'm just trying to make some friends..." Ventus said before he realized that that wouldn't work. "Never mind, forget it."

"Don't be intimidated by my magnificence," "Captain Justice" laughed out. "Go on and spit it out. Then... remember to vote Captain J."

That caught Vanitas' interest.

"Vote?" Ventus asked, also curious.

"Vote in what?" Vanitas asked, his arms crossed smugly.

"Oh!" "Captain Justice" stammered out. "Well, uh, forget that." He crossed his arms. "How can I help? That's the only reason I'm here."

Ventus crossed his arms and looked down as he thought about it. Then he thought of something.

"I know!" he said. "Tell me about your town. Everything's so... festive. Is it always like this?'

"Huh?" "Captain Justice" asked. "That's it... nothin' else?"

"We're kind of newcomers, visiting," Vanitas explained. He had a feeling that despite his suspicious nature, this "Captain Justice" guy was still trying to do some good. "So we're not exactly aware of how things are around here."

"Well," Captain Justice explained, looking around town square. "The festivities are on account of the Dream Festival... which is why I've made sure there's carnival stuff all over town."

"That makes sense," Vanitas nodded.

"Really?" Ventus asked Captain Justice. "Like what?"

"Ho ho," Captain justice said, crossing his arms. "You gotta see it for yourself. Wouldn't be much of a dream if I just told ya."

"He's got a point," Vanitas said, smiling at Ventus.

"Right," Ventus nodded to the two. Then he turned to Captain Justice. "Thanks."

Captain Justice then turned to look at the boys again.

"And kids," he said to them, gesturing a lot with his arms. "Don't you go forgettin'... Captain Justice is the one who solved all your problems. That would be Justice with a J!"

Vanitas smirked at the thought of this guy trying to solve all of his problems.

"Uh, sure," Ventus said, uncertainly. "I got it, Captain Justice."

"Rock on," Vanitas said, pumping his fist.

A young voice was suddenly heard from the other side of the town square.

"Aww, phooey! This stinks! Now we can't open the ice cream shop!"

The three of them turned to look at three small ducks on the other side of the square talking to a mouse next to a crazy looking machine. The ducks were all wearing shirts and caps of different colors. One of them wore green, one of them wore blue, and one of them wore red. The mouse was female, as evident from the pink dress she wore, along with an elegant crown, indicating she was royalty. The Machine, though was an odd one. The front was shaped like an ice cream cone, with a little launcher like thing on the front. There was a seat on the back, with button panels on the sides. However, the button panels were designed like keyboards.

"Trouble?" Captain Justice asked as he ran towards them. "Rescue is on the way!"

"A festival, huh?" Ventus asked, his arms crossed again. "Well, maybe I can make some new friends."

"If that's what floats your boat," Vanitas smirked. "I for one, feel like checking out what's going on over there."

"Yeah, I was gonna do that, too," Ventus said, smiling at him.

"Good to see we're on the same level," Vanitas said, still smiling.

The two boys then walked over to see what the problem was with the ice cream thing. The ducks, mouse, and Captain Justice all took notice of the two as they approached.

"Well, if it ain't the last kids Captain Justice saved," the giant cat said. "'Fraid you'll have to get in line. I'm working on another catastrophe here for these fellahs..."

"Huey..." Red duck turned to look at him. "...Dewey..." Blue duck turned. "... and Louie..." Green duck turned. "... my good friends."

"Now, I'd hardly call it a catastrophe," the mouse said.

"Yeah," Huey said. "All we were tryin' to do was make our own special recipe ice cream.

Dewey jumped in. "And we had a little trouble."

"Come on," Louie said. "It's not really that big a deal."

"I'm 100% positive you're the victims of sabotage!" Captain Justice exclaimed.

Vanitas looked at him with a face that said "Really, dude?" For once, Ventus agreed with the face Vanitas had made.

"Not even close!" Dewey interjected. "Quit makin' stuff up."

Louie turned to the machine. "It's just the ice cream machine."

"Unca Scrooge left it for us..."  _Why am I not surprised_ , Vanitas thought with a smirk. "...but we can't figure out how it works 'cause it's so complicated."

"Aw, we're sorry, Queen Minnie," Dewey said sadly to the mouse. "We wanted you to be the first to try our special recipe ice cream."

"Oh boys," Queen Minnie said, sympathetically as she turned to the kids. "It was very sweet of you to think of me."

"We tried," Louie said, looking down.

"Say no more," Captain Justice interjected. "Leave it to me. One bowl of ice cream comin' right up!"

The boys looked at him, mad. Dewey interjected with,"You're just gonna make a mess. Leave it alone, Pete!"

"That's Captain Justice!" the cat yelled, stomping on the ground. 

"How much you wanna bet he screws it up?" Vanitas whispered to Ventus.

"Not gonna take a bet," Ventus whispered back. "He doesn't seem the most responsible. Or smart."

"Coward," Vanitas whispered, a smile on his face.

Things went wrong immediately. Pretty soon, there were ice cream scoops all over the stage the machine was pointed at. Vanitas internally questioned why the machine was pointed at a stage as Captain Justice grew more frustrated.

"This machine's busted," he said angrily. "It just needs a good poundin'..."

He then hit the part that was like an ice cream scoop a couple of times.

"It does not!" Queen Minnie yelled.

"Hey," Ventus said. Everyone turned to look at him. "Do you think I could give it a shot?"

"No," Captian justice said, looking at Ventus. "If Captain Justice can't fix it, there ain't nothin' you can do, kid."

"Maybe not," Ventus said, walking towards the machine. "But there's no harm in trying."

"He's got a point," Vanitas said.

"Yeah!" Huey said to Ventus. "And better you than him."

Huey then walked over next to Ventus at the machine.

"Here ya go," he said, holding out something. "These are the directions for the machine."

Ventus bent over to pick them up.

_Huh,_ Vanitas thought with a smile.  _His desire to help people reminds me of Carol._

He then sighed out.  _Man, I miss her and Fury. They cracked me up._

Ventus managed to use the machine very easily. They tried it out by launching ice cream scoops to the three ducks as they stood on the stage holding cones. They ended up doing it all to the tune of It's a Small World, for some reason. As they worked, Vanitas found himself humming along. Eventually, they were done. The beat was done, and ice cream was eaten.

"Mm, how yummy," Queen Minnie said. "What a wonderful treat!  I don't think I've ever had such delicious ice cream. Thank you..."

It was then that she realized the two boys hadn't introduced themselves yet.

"Uh, oh, oh dear..."

They both realized this as well pretty quickly.

"Oh, Ventus," Ventus said. "Just Ven is fine."

"Well, thank you, Ventus," Queen Minnie said.

"I'm his older bro, Vanitas," Vanitas said with a slight wave. "I go by V."

"Older?" Ventus asked with a smile. "Since when?"

"Since I forgot how old we are," Vanitas chuckled.

"Way to go, Ven!" Huey exclaimed.

"I see..." Louie said, looking at the machine. "We just had to push this thingama jig the other way."

"Common mistake," Vanitas commented.

"Hey, I just got an idea!" Dewey said. "We could let our customers make up their own favorite flavors of ice cream!"

"Not with that machine!" Captain Justice interjected.

The two ducks jumped off the machine as Captain Justice walked up to it.

"Well, the kid mighta got it to work this one time." he got in a fighting stance. "But junk like that needs to get junked!"

"Don't you dare, Pete!" Queen Minnie called out.

He stopped and looked from the machine to the others. The ducks and the Queen looked at him mad, and Ventus and Vanitas stood in fighting stances.

"Fine," Pete said, exasperated. "But Captain Justice will return!"

Pete then turned away and ran down the road, out of sight. Ventus and Vanitas then turned to the others.

"About 'Captain Justice'..." Ventus said. "You said his name is Pete?"

"He seems like a real rude dude," Vanitas commented.

"He is," Huey agreed. "He's the biggest troublemaker in town!"

Dewey shared his thoughts. "I bet he's just callin' himself Captain Justice 'cause he wants to win the Million Dreams Award."

"What's the Million Dreams Award?" Ventus asked.

"Sounds interesting," Vanitas commented.

"That's one of the Dream Festival events," Queen Minnie explained. "Everyone votes for who they think is the town's most exemplary citizen."

"I get it," Ventus said, crossing his arms again. "So that's what he meant by 'vote.'"

"Why do you cross your arms so much?" Vanitas asked.

"And if ya win the award," Louie continued for the others. "Ya get a really cool prize!"

"Oh, it's just a small token," Queen Minnie chuckled, turning to look away from them. "Nothing elaborate."

She went on, gesturing with her arms. "The event is supposed to help us appreciate how much we all look out for each other every day. That's the spirit of the award."

"Well," Ventus said, putting one hand on his chin and his other on his hip. "That sounds nice enough..."

"It really does," Vanitas agreed.  _Seriously,_ Vanitas thought.  _Why does everyone gesture with their arms every time they talk?_

"Pete just wants to get his grubby hands on the prize," Huey said to his brothers. 

"And he knows that nobody's gonna vote for him if he puts his own name on the ballot!" Dewey added.

"But nobody's fooled!" Louie added.

"Yeah!" Huey and Dewey said, turning their heads. The three of them then burst out laughing.

Ventus looked down with a smile.

"Wish somebody was lookin' out for me." he said to himself.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Vanitas with a smile on his face.

"Your wish is granted, bro." he said.

The two boys smiled as they looked at the sky together watching the oddly shaped clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, these guys will eventually hang out with those guys!


	17. Olympus Coliseum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends are made, and friends will fight

Of course, Ventus and Vanitas couldn't stay in Disney Town for too long. At least long enough to have a break from the duties of being a Keyblade Wielder for a little while. But eventually, they had to get back to work. So, they left Disney Town and went to a world that was mostly made up of a big Coliseum.

"I do wish we could have stayed to see who won the Million Dreams Award," Ventus said as they walked into a town. "It did seem like a pretty big deal."

"You know what I wish?" Vanitas asked.

"What?" Ventus asked, curious.

"That we had a chance to go through with the plan," Vanitas answered.

"Oh, yeah," Ventus said, remembering the plan.

The plan they were talking about involved Terra and Aqua. See, it was painfully obvious to everyone but the two of them that they liked each other. Their chemistry was obvious. So, the two boys came up with a plan to get them to kiss, but it was supposed to be after the Mark of Mastery exam. Things had gone wrong, so they weren't able to go through with the plan.

"Do you think we'll be able to try to do it again?" Ventus asked as they walked through town.

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted. "They don't seem to be too fond of each other at the moment."

The two boys were then distracted as a short, goat man hybrid ran behind them towards a little ledge with columns.

"Huh?" Ventus asked.

"Not everyday you see a satyr," Vanitas said as they walked over to the little guy, whose back was turned to them.

"Oy," the satyr breathed heavily. "The kid's relentless!"

"Hey," Ventus said once they reached him. "Whatcha doin' there?"

The satyr then screamed as he jumped up into the air, surprising the two Keyblade wielders. He then turned to face them, anger in his eyes.

"I told ya" he yelled. "I'm booked solid. N-O spells forget it!"

"Uh," Ventus said in confusion.

 _Maybe HE'S drunk,_ Vanitas thought.

The satyr then saw who they are.

"Huh?" he asked, confused. "And who in the Halicarnassus are you? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"You're hiding out from someone," Vanitas observed.

Before the satyr could say anything, a young boy with red hair wearing a toga ran towards the group, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Hey Phil! I'm all signed up! Phil!"

"All right, Herc," Phil whispered once the boy reached them. "I hear ya! Now would ya keep it down already."

"Aha!" someone else exclaimed as he noticed the group. He then ran over to them. 

"Beautiful," Phil said, annoyed. "You happy now? You blew my cover!"

The other boy reached them. He wore an armored tunic, which left his arms bare, black gloves blue pants, black boots, and a helmet. Across his back was a wicked looking sword.

"Okay, 'fess up," he said to Phil. "I asked around, and everybody says you're the guy. The trainer of heroes."

"True heroes!" Herc interjected.

"Really?" Ventus asked. "You can teach that?"

"'Course he can," he said, walking so he was in front of Phil. "C'mon, Phil, please. I really wanna be a hero."

"Doesn't he know beggars can't be choosers?" Vanitas whispered to Ventus.

"Look," Phil said, sternly. "We've been through this. I got two words for you..."

He gestured with his arms strongly as he talked, emphasizing each word.

"Student-teacher ratio!"

Ventus then counted each word on his fingers.

"One," he said to himself. "Two... um?"

"I don't think he can count," Vanitas whispered.

Phil then started walking back to the staircase near the front of the town, talking along the way. "I already got my hands full with this one. C'mon, Herc.

Herc started to follow Phil.

"I'm low-maintenance," the soldier boy said. "I swear!"

Phil and Herc stopped as a couple of Flood Unversed then appeared in front of them. They exclaimed in shock.

"Unversed!" Ventus exclaimed as he and Vanitas ran to help, their Keyblades drawn.

"Monsters, huh..." the soldier boy said as he ran forwards, too.

Ventus, Vanitas, the soldier boy, and Herc then got into fighting stances, the soldier boy talking the whole time.

"Hey, Phil!  Watch this! I'll show ya what I'm made of."

Herc added, "And I'll help, too!" as Phil ran away.

 _Great, we got two yahoos fighting besides us,_ Vanitas thought, inadvertently speaking to Ventus as well.  _Hope this doesn't become a regular thing._

Ventus looked confused at for Vanitas for a second, then Vanitas realized what he did. He gave a look saying "I'll tell you later," as they started fighting Unversed.

The four of them took out the Floods very easily, as those ones had become pretty standard at this point. New Unversed popped up, some plant like ones, some flying ones with giant wings protruding from their heads, and some that had big bodies but small arms and legs. Vanitas attacked the plants with fire based magic, taking them out pretty easily. He then joined Ventus in fighting the big bodied ones. The soldier boy slashed at the winged Unversed with his sword, taking each one out with one or two swipes. Herc alternated his fighting, sometimes attacking the ones with big bodies, sometimes the winged ones. He was pretty awkward with the fighting, as evidenced by the way he lost his balance when he pulled back for an attack.

"Freeze," Ventus yelled as he froze some of the winged Unversed with an ice spell. He then used a spell that attacked them with pillars of light, taking them out along the way. Vanitas then went after an Unversed similar to the large bodied one. This one had shields on it's hands, and a helmet on it's head. The Unversed attacked him, hitting him, so he left behind an image.

"Nope," he said as he teleported behind the Unversed and took it out with a downwards attack.

The soldier boy and Ventus then took out individual Floods easily with slashes from their blades. Vanitas launched a fireball at an escaping Flood, destroying it. Herc lost his balance again, then bum rushed the last Unversed, taking it out.

The group converged in the center of the town with Phil, Ventus and Vanitas' Keyblades dismissed. Herc sighed out as he chuckled, looking at the others individually. Ventus put his hands on the back of his head as he smiled at Herc.

Phil sighed out as he looked up at Herc and the soldier boy. "Okay, change of plans."

The soldier boy looked at him in anticipation.

Phil continued, "The Games are comin' up. So, I'm gonna watch both of your matches, then I'll decide which of you rookies I wanna train."

Herc looked confused at this, while the soldier boy looked excited.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed. "Thank you, thank you! I'm gonna go sign up right now."

He then ran back to that staircase at the front of town.

"The Games, huh?" Ventus asked. "Sounds fun!"

He then started to run after the soldier boy. Before Vanitas could follow him, Phil spoke up.

"Sorry, kid. Captain Eager there just took the last spot."

 _Drat,_ Vanitas thought. He was a little eager to beat people up and not get arrested for it.

Ventus stopped at Phil's words. Vanitas couldn't see Ventus' face, but he could sense that his friend was upset.

Herc stammered out,"I don't understand! Phil, I thought you were my trainer!"

Phil kept looking forward, away from the boy. "You wanna be a true hero, Herc? Then you're gonna hafta go out there and show me that everything I've taught you so far is gonna pay off."

Phil started walking away from the still surprised Herc as he spoke.

"But, Phil..." Herc said.

"Oh," Phil added. "And no more trainin' sessions for a while. Wouldn't be fair if I helped you and not him."

Phil walked up the staircase, leaving the town. Herc looked down in sadness. The two Keyblade wielders walked towards him.

"Hey, cheer up!" Ventus called out. "So you gotta fight a couple of matches, no big deal."

"We're Vanitas and Ventus," Vanitas introduced the two of them.

"Want us to help you train?" Ventus asked.

"You'd really do that for me?" Herc asked.

"Sure," Ventus nodded.

"Got nothing better to do," Vanitas said.

"Thanks, Ventus, Vanitas," Herc said. "I'm Hercules."

He held out his hand to shake it. "Herc for short."

"Just call me Ven," Ventus said as he shook Herc's hand. "You're gonna do fine."

"Thanks," Hercules said as they each took back their hands. "I'm gonna head over to the Coliseum and warm up."

"Meet me in the vestibule, okay?" he asked as he walked towards the stairs.

Once the boy was out of earshot, Vanitas turned to Ventus.

"Sorry, but you're gonna have to deal with this on you're own," Vanitas said. "Something just feels... off, about this world. If I'm not back by the time you finish up here, just go. I'll catch up eventually."

"All right," Ventus nodded. "If you need help, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't," Vanitas nodded, truthfully.

"I just have one question, though," Ventus said. "How exactly did you do that?"

Vanitas shrugged. "It's just another one of the abilities I was born with."

"How many abilities were you born with?" Ventus asked, curious.

"I have no idea," Vanitas said.

Vanitas then did a powerful jump, going very high into the city up until he was at the highest point. From there, he looked around to try to take everything in. He could see that that staircase from earlier was connected to a road that led up to a mountain. On top of that mountain, clouds gathered around, hiding whatever was up there from view. Vanitas could sense that the Coliseum was up there.

Suddenly, Vanitas felt a sharp pain in his head. He held his head as the pain only grew. He groaned as the pain reached an unbearable level, and he blacked out.

* * *

Vanitas woke up many hours later with a headache. This time, the pain wasn't that bad, so he was able to stand up. He used his powers and was able to sense that Ventus had left already. Say what you want about the kid, sometimes he actually will follow instructions.

Using his powers, he was able to sense another presence on this world. This one had conflicting darkness and light within them. Terra. At the moment, he was with a powerful darkness controlling someone through more darkness.

Knowing he should probably help his friend, Vanitas started to make his way to the area. He used some more of his powerful jumps to make his way to the top of the mountain that the others were talking about earlier. His last jump landed himself in the outside courtyard of the Coliseum.

The Coliseum's exterior really impressed Vanitas. From the pillars, to the gigantic statues of warriors crossing their swords right above the doorway, to the ornate designs on all of the walls. Which was really saying something since hardly anything impressed Vanitas nowadays.

"Wow," Vanitas whispered to himself as he jumped up again.

He landed in the arena that he had sensed Terra was in, right behind the man in question. Terra was standing over the soldier boy from earlier with confetti falling from somewhere, and Vanitas could sense darkness leaving the unconscious boy. Vanitas figured out what happened pretty quickly, and smiled knowing that his friend did something good.

"Forget it," a voice that came from nowhere surprised Vanitas.

Standing next to Vanitas was a tall man wearing a black robe with blue skin and blue hair. The thing was, the man's hair was made out of fire. Vanitas could sense great amounts of darkness within the man, and had a feeling that this guy was a bigger pyrokinetic that himself.

"It looks like I bet on the wrong dark horse," the man continued. "That kid doesn't have what it takes to handle darkness."

Vanitas smiled at that thought as he looked at his friend while the man had just noticed him.

"Hey, kid," the man said, drawing Vanitas' attention. "You wanna learn how to control darkness?"

Vanitas got an annoyed look on his face and kicked the man in the crotch. The man bent over, groaning in pain, and Terra turned around to see what was happening.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed," the man said as he teleported away in a cloud of smoke.

"V!" Terra said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here with Ven," Vanitas explained, which made Terra look hopeful for a second. "But something caused me to black out, and by the time he woke up, he was gone."

"Oh," Terra said, disappointed.

"Yeah," Vanitas said, sarcastically. "Such a real disappointment that you're stuck here with me."

Terra perked up.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said. "For what I did back in Radiant Garden. I just assumed from what Master Xehanort said. I should have known..."

"Yeah, you should have," Vanitas agreed, calmly. "You know me better than that."

"I do," Terra agreed. "And I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well..." Vanitas said, with his arms crossed. "I don't accept your apology."

"What?" Terra asked, surprised.

"That was really hurtful back there," Vanitas said, still calmly. "And I think there's only one thing that can help make me feel better."

Vanitas summoned his Keyblade and stood in his battle stance. Terra looked surprised again for a second before he realized what was going on.

"You just wanna fight me again, don't you?" he asked, a smirk growing on his face.

"Ah, yep," Vanitas smirked. "I'm okay with you using darkness, but balance it out. That's the whole point of light and darkness. Balance."

Terra nodded, summoned his Keyblade, and stood in his battle stance.

Vanitas calmly walked forward as Terra charged at him. Vanitas blocked Terra's attacks with his Keyblade, and rolled behind Terra. He swiped at Terra's back, then rolled out of the way again as Terra tried retaliating with a side slash. Vanitas dropped his defenses for a second, and let Terra attack him with a full combo. Since he had a lot of experience as a Keyblade Master, he had to go easy on Terra since he had a lot more abilities.

Terra pulled back to gain energy for his Finish attack, then did a front flip to attack at Vanitas. The shockwave knocked back Vanitas and he groaned in pain. Vanitas suddenly went still, and Terra understood quickly what was going on. He slid away just as Vanitas teleported behind him doing a downwards slash.

"Probably should have seen that coming," Vanitas admitted.

"Yeah, probably," Terra snickered.

Vanitas rushed in doing his usual downwards slash and upwards slash, both attacks hitting Terra.

"So tell me more about this masked you," Terra said as he launched a fireball at Vanitas.

"Well," Vanitas said as he slashed the fireball, causing it to explode on his Keyblade. "Like I said, he pretty much stole all of my attacks, my Keyblade, and my name."

Terra backed up as Vanitas rushed towards him, swiping at the man.

"An anthropomorphic mouse with a Keyblade helped me and Ven defeat him," Vanitas continued to explain.

Terra took this in, then swiped at Vanitas, which he blocked.

"I've seen him," Terra admitted. "Yen Sid's apprentice?"

"Yeah," Vanitas said, backflipping away. "Like you and Ven, he's pretty tough for someone who isn't a master."

"How tough IS Ven?" Terra asked, summoning a meteor from the sky.

Vanitas summoned a barricade around himself as the meteor hit at him. The meteor's impact did nothing to the surrounding area, just grazing the barricade.

"He managed to do pretty well against the masked weirdo on his own," Vanitas explained, launching a fireball at his friend. "Somehow, though, he was able to knock out Ven with a single attack after Ven had beaten the heck out of him for a little while."

Terra tried slashing at the fireball like Vanitas had done a little while earlier, but the big fireball had converted into three smaller fireballs, two going around him, one going over him. All three of them hit Terra in the torso.

"Maybe certain attacks amplify strength," Terra guessed as he stood back in his battle stance.

"Maybe," Vanitas agreed, getting in his battle stance as well.

The two then got out of their stances and dismissed their Keyblades. Terra looked around Vanitas and it was this that made Vanitas remember the soldier boy.

Terra walked around Vanitas to the boy who was on his hands and knees, looking up at them in amazement. His sword was skittered off to the side as Terra reached him.

"You gonna make it?" Terra asked, concerned.

"Y-yeah," he said as Terra knelt down to his level. "I'm finally free."

Terra had a small smile as Vanitas walked over. It was here that Vanitas could see the boy had big, spikey, black hair.

"Where is...?" the boy started to ask.

"I sent him away with a nice parting gift," Vanitas said smugly, crossing his arms.

"Man," the boy said, upset, punching at the ground. "How could I let a guy like him control me? I'll never live it down!"

He looked down for a bit in shame. When he looked back up, he was surprised to see Terra offering his hand for the boy to take. He chuckled as he took it and Terra helped him up.

"Thanks," he started to say, just now realizing he didn't know Terra's name. "Um..."

"Terra," the man answered for him.

"Thanks, Terra," the boy said. "I'm Zack."

"Thank you," Vanitas said. "I never got it earlier. This whole time in my head, I've been referring to you as 'the soldier boy.'"

Terra chuckled at that as Zack stared at him, intently.

"Yup," Zack said, nodding. "Definitely. Terra, you're exactly what I pictured a hero would be."

Zack kept studying Terra, making Vanitas a little uncomfortable. He was starting to worry this guy was developing an obsession.

"Not the way you look," Zack continued. "There's something else about you."

Terra turned around, showing Zack his back, surprising the boy. Vanitas looked at Terra confused.

"Well, I'm no hero," Terra said, not looking at Zack. "Trust me."

"You kidding?" Zack asked. "Listen to those cheers, man."

Terra stopped and faced the boys again just as Vanitas noticed the seats containing the audience. They were all cheering loudly at the fighting that had just taken place.

 _Man,_ Vanitas thought with a smile.  _These people must really like watching people beat the heck out of each other._

"You don't get to decide if you're a hero or not," Zack continued. "They do."

"Exactly," Vanitas said as Terra looked at the audience in amazement. "A true hero isn't determined by how they look, or the strength of their muscles or something. A true hero is determined what they do for others. It's all about the strength of their heart. By what you can do to protect others."

"And  _they've_ already made up their mind," Zack agreed. "Whether you like it or not, you're their hero."

Zack then gave Terra a friendly punch on the shoulder, stealing his attention back from the crowds.

"And mine, too," Zack added.

"I don't think that last bit is much consolation," Vanitas joked.

Zack smirked at him, then looked back at Terra.

"It's too bad," Zack said, suddenly sad. "I really wanted to fight you fair and square."

He looked down in sadness, so Terra returned the friendly punch on his shoulder.

"Maybe someday, Zack," Terra reassured him.

Zack smiled at that.

"And then maybe you can fight me," Vanitas smiled at him.

Zack looked at him, still smiling.

"Or maybe we could do a free for all," Zack suggested, spreading his arms. "Who will win?"

 _Me_ , both Keyblade wielders simultaneously thought, which they both heard in their heads. Terra looked at Vanitas confused, Vanitas looked surprised since he hadn't intentionally meant to share that into Terra's head.

As they were walking away from the Coliseum, Terra turned to look at Vanitas, but before he could say anything, the ravenette beat him to the punch.

"It's a power I was born with," Vanitas said as he continued to walk, not even looking at Terra. "I honestly don't know how I have it, it just started up one day."

Terra nodded, looking forwards again as they continued walking.

"So where you heading to next?" Terra asked.

"Whatever world is next on the roster," Vanitas answered. "I could use some company."

"I'm in," Terra said as he hit his armor button.

The two were then encased in armor, flying into the Lanes Between, ready for the next world.


	18. Deep Space: Terra and Aqua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas spends some time on an alien spaceship with a couple of his friends. If only briefly for one

Terra and Vanitas flew through the Lanes Between together, Terra on his Glider, Vanitas in his gauntlets, boots, and helmet. As they flew, Terra looked down at his Wayfinder in his hand. Vanitas noticed this, a little surprised because of how easily he had declared he didn't need them back in Radiant Garden. Vanitas was about to say something when they looked up and were surprised at what they saw.

In front of them in the Lanes Between was an army of floating Unversed. These ones looked like jellyfish made from a design from mushrooms. They were in varieties of different colors, and there were a LOT of them.

"All the way out here?" Terra asked.

"You never know," Vanitas admitted.

The two flew through the Lanes so that they were facing the Unversed. Vanitas summoned his Keyblade, and they began the fight.

Terra flew his Glider in ways of attack. After all, since his Glider WAS made from his Keyblade, it could be good for fighting. He did spin attacks, or charge attacks, each one taking out a couple of Unversed at a time.

Vanitas attacked in a different way. Since he could actually hold his Keyblade, he attacked like how he would in aerial attack. A combo there, rushing forwards with a downwards attack and an upwards attack there, he even used Thunder magic to take a few out. (Although he did question how it worked so well since there wasn't too much of an atmosphere out here.)

Terra kept attacking at the Unversed, using a combination of the blade bits and the thrusters on his Glider to attack. This gave Vanitas an idea. He started kicking at the Unversed, using the thrusters on his boots to attack. It was a good strategy, and he managed to damage a lot of Unversed this way.

Eventually, Terra flew his Glider through the last Unversed, and the two were able to continue flying.

They barely had a moment to breathe before a very large spaceship appeared over the two of them. It surprised the both of them, especially when, after a bit of struggling, the ship pulled them up towards it. The ship must have had a tractor beam. Both Vanitas and Terra lost consciousness.

* * *

 

Vanitas woke up in a metal chair, his hands held down onto the arms. A bright light was shining in his face, and he was missing his jacket and shirt, so his torso was left bare.

"What the heck?" he asked, genuinely confused.

He finally noticed he was sitting in front of a table when he saw a weird looking alien sitting in front of him. Behind the alien was a glass window separating the current room to another one. In that one stood a really tall, really buff alien that made Vanitas uncomfortable. In front of that alien was one of average height, dressed in regal robes. Vanitas recognized this alien.

All of a sudden, he was being electrocuted with a rod. Vanitas screamed out in pain before the alien sitting in front of him pulled back the rod.

"That's just a fraction of the pain you're gonna feel today, you slime," the alien said, defiantly.

Vanitas looked up and saw the regal alien about to leave the room she was in. He had to act.

"I wonder how the Grand Council will react when they find out how you kidnapped and harmed two innocent world travelers!" He yelled out so she could hear him.

This made the alien stop in her tracks, which led to Vanitas sighing out in relief. She walked through the room, ignoring the tall alien's pleas for her to stop, and entered the interrogation room through a sliding door next to the glass window.

"You know about the Grand Counsel?" the alien asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas sighed out. "And I know you're the Grand Councilwoman. You kind of kidnapped me and my friend while we were flying through space."

"We saw two creatures we didn't recognize," The Grand Councilwoman tried explaining. "We were curious."

"You didn't have to kidnap!" Vanitas exclaimed. "We were just minding our own business. You're lucky I don't get my lawyer and sue you."

The tall alien laughed at Vanitas through an intercom.

"Like you could get away with that!" he laughed.

"Actually Captain Gantu," the Grand Councilwoman declared. "He can. We did kidnap him and his friend. We have no right to keep him here."

Gantu looked surprised, which made Vanitas smile.

"But, Grand Councilwoman," the alien with the rod said desperately. "We don't know what he is! We need to collect information."

"If I may," Vanitas interjected. "You could have just approached us and ASKED. Like decent people."

The Grand Councilwoman looked at him.

"We could have just asked, and you would have told us?" she asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas admitted. "And I'm feeling generous, so I'm willing to still tell you if you promise my friend and I can leave once we're done."

"Grand Councilwoman!" Gantu exclaimed. "You can't actually consider..."

"Quiet, Captain Gantu," the Grand Councilwoman said, calmly, not looking at him.

"Yeah, quiet, Gantu!" Vanitas yelled to the tall alien. "The adults are talking!"

Gantu grumbled at Vanitas' words as the Grand Councilwoman reached her decision.

"Let him go," she announced. "And get someone to copy down everything he tells us."

"I can take care of part of that," Vanitas said.

He brought his fists up, breaking through the restraints. The Grand Councilwoman and the alien with the rod looked at him, surprise evident on their faces.

"I'm a bit stronger than most of my species," Vanitas explained.

He stood up and stretched. His body was still a little tired from after he had blacked out.

"All right," Vanitas said. "First thing's first..."

He then grabbed the rod from the alien, and jabbed it right into it's chest. The alien was electrocuted very badly, and fell to the floor, unconscious. Vanitas broke the rod into two in his hands.

"That's how it felt," Vanitas said to the unconscious alien. He then turned to the Grand Councilwoman. "Second, I'd like my clothes back."

* * *

 

Vanitas was given back his shirt and jacket, which he put on immediately. A new alien named Nix then showed up and started asking him questions about himself. He answered all of them honestly. His name was Vanitas Jordan, he was a human male, he was fifteen years old, and he travelled to different worlds in his past time.

"Now, about your family..." Nix started to say.

"I don't want to talk about that," Vanitas immediately said.

"Well," Nix said. "In some situations, it can be vital to know the parentage of someone. For down the li-"

A loud klaxton then reverberated throughout the ship.

"Red alert. Red alert," a voice said over the intercom. "Experiment 626 and two prisoners have escaped from the cell bay. Security, locate the fugitives immediately. Repeat, Experiment 626 and two presidents have..."

As the man went on, Vanitas could sense that one of those prisoners was Terra. He got up and ran through the doorway.

"Hey!" Nix yelled after him. "We're not done yet!"

Vanitas ran through the hallways until he found the room that he sensed Terra was in. He opened the sliding door, and watched as Terra flew through a portal into the Lanes Between on his Glider while wearing his armor.

"Wait, Terra!" Vanitas called out just as the portal closed.

"Dang it," Vanitas exclaimed, upset.

He had been going through this whole thing to get himself and Terra peacefully let go. Now who knows what kind of trouble Terra had caused while escaping?

"What are you doing here?!"

Vanitas turned around to see Gantu looking at him angrily, pointing his gun at him.

"I heard what the guy said about the prisoners," Vanitas explained, calmly, to the guy pointing a gun at his head. "I have experience in fighting, so I figured I would try to fight them."

"Sure," Gantu said, confidently. "We'll just see what the security cameras have to say about this."

* * *

 

True to his word, once they got back to the control room, Gantu checked the security cameras from in the room they had left. He was dismayed to find that Vanitas hadn't done anything to assist the prisoners in their escape. Vanitas himself smiled as he watched the smile fade off of Gantu's face.

Once that was over, Vanitas got back to Nix and finished up all of the questions. He managed to get out of having to talk about his family, so they decided to just get to the body scan. Seems these guys were most curious about how a human nervous system worked. Vanitas sat down in the chair, and let Nix scan him with a little device. Seconds later, it was over.

"Thank you so much, Vanitas," Nix said as Vanitas got up to leave.

"Just don't use this information to enslave humanity," Vanitas said as he turned to leave. "That would make me feel bad."

Vanitas walked through the hallways again until he had reached the control room the Grand Councilwoman was in.

"All done," Vanitas said.

"Thank you, Vanitas," the Grand Councilwoman said. "Again, we are so sorry for the misunderstanding."

Before Vanitas could say anything else, they looked towards the doorway to see Gantu being followed by Aqua.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Grand Councilwoman asked, sternly.

"How many of my friends did you guys kidnap?" Vanitas asked, surprised to see Aqua.

The Grand Councilwoman continued talking as she walked towards the two.

"Captain Gantu," she said. "Did I not order you to apprehend the fugitives immediately?"

"Yes," Gantu said. "And I will have them in custody soon. They'd be locked up already if those wretched monsters would just..."

That peaked Vanitas' interest. How long had the Unversed been here?

"I mean," Gantu corrected himself. "If I hadn't uncovered this potential stowaway."

"I wasn't trying to sneak on board," Aqua said as she walked into the room. "My name is Aqua. And those monsters: I followed them here. Please, I can handle this threat. Just give me a chance."

She reached the Grand Councilwoman.

"Let me show you," Aqua continued. "The weapon I carry is the only one that can stop them."

"I have one, too," Vanitas added. "I would have helped by now if i had even known that the monsters were here."

"Our weapons are of no use against them?" the Grand Councilwoman asked in realization. She looked up at Gantu. "Is this true?"

"Well," he said nervously. "We haven't explored all our options."

"Nor do we have time to," The Grand Councilwoman interjected.

She looked at Aqua and Vanitas.

"Aqua, Vanitas, we are fortunate you both are here," the Grand Councilwoman said. "Your assistance would be most welcome."

"But Grand Councilwoman," Gantu interjected. "You can't honestly believe what this stowaway and this prisoner say?"

"For the last time, he's not a prisoner," the Grand Councilwoman said. "And I think you'll find I can. We have a crisis. Jumba and 626 remain at large, and these monsters are obstructing attempts to apprehend them. Or did I mishear your latest excuse as to why you've again failed to carry out your duties, Captain?"

Vanitas smirked at that, which Aqua saw, and mentally reprimanded him.

The Grand Councilwoman turned to Aqua and Vanitas again.

"Will you help us?" she asked.

"Of course," Aqua said. "Defeating them is our job. It's what we do best, ma'am."

"That, and playing guitar," Vanitas added, smiling.

Aqua looked at him like he was an idiot.

"But, it all seriousness," Vanitas said. "We are very good at fighting them, so it isn't too much trouble."

"Then might I make one other request?" the Grand Councilwoman asked.

"Should you happen upon our fugitives," she said as she faced the monitor as it turned on to show an image of two aliens that Vanitas guessed were Experiment 626 and Dr. Jumba. "Please do whatever you can to apprehend them intact."

"You want us to capture Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626?" Aqua asked.

"But you can't just," Gantu freaked out behind Aqua and Vanitas. "That's my job!"

Vanitas smirked at Gantu's discomfort. He was willing to do this if it annoyed Gantu.

"You had your chance, Captain Gantu," the Grand Councilwoman said in a condescending manner. "Now you will stand down and await orders."

The captain growled at that, which made Vanitas think he was gonna do something drastic.

"We will monitor the location of the monsters and keep you apprised," the Grand Councilwoman said to the two. "Aqua, Vanitas, thank you."

"Of course," Aqua nodded, then turned to leave with Vanitas beside her.

_Experiment 626 was carrying a Wayfinder,"_ Vanitas heard Aqua's thoughts in his head.  _I know that shape anywhere._

She stopped for a second.

_Are Terra and Ven here, too?_ Aqua thought.

"Terra was," Vanitas answered aloud. "They kind of kidnapped us, held him prisoner, tried to probe me. I talked them out of it, and tried negotiating for them to let us go, but then Terra broke out and escaped on his own."

"Oh," Aqua said. "I had forgotten about those powers of yours for a second. Did you see him?"

"For like a second," Vanitas said. "The idiot was leaving just as I found him."

"Well, at least he's okay," Aqua said. "Let's get to business."

Their first course of action was taking out some Unversed on the exterior of the ship. Using their armor and Aqua's Glider, they took out the Unversed pretty easily. As they were flying around the ship, something caught their attention. Aqua reached out to grab a homemade Wayfinder just as it reached them.

"This must be the Wayfinder that 626 was carrying around," Aqua said.

"He made a Wayfinder?" Vanitas asked.

"We don't know that," Aqua looked at Vanitas through the helmet.

"Look at it," Vanitas said. "That thing is homemade."

The two continued their flight in silence, and reentered the ship. The next place to check out was the prison level, so they made their way there.

They entered the gigantic prison level to witness Experiment 626 crawling around, muttering like he was confused. A bunch of Flood Unversed popped up behind the little guy. Aqua ran forward just as they jumped at him. She took out all three of them with an aerial strike and landed in front of the little alien. Aqua dismissed her Keyblade.

"You must be Experiment 626," Aqua said to him. "We have orders to take you in."

"Terra!" Experiment 626 called out, surprising both Aqua and Vanitas.

The little guy turned around and started crawling away from Aqua, past Vanitas.

"You're looking for Terra," Vanitas observed, watching Experiment 626 crawl away. "Aren't you?"

"I think you and I need to talk," Aqua said to the little alien as she started walking towards him.

They were stopped when Floods started popping up around all three of them.

Aqua and Vanitas looked around at the Floods.

"But first thing's first," Aqua said as she summoned her Keyblade.

"Rock and roll," Vanitas said, summoning his own Keyblade.

Aqua rushed in and did a combo on a Flood while Experiment 626 shot blasters at another one. (Wait, when did he get blasters?) Vanitas rushed in and did a downwards slash at one Flood, then shot fire at it, taking it out.

Once the floods were gone, a couple of soldiers and a vial looking Unversed appeared behind them. Vanitas launched up lightning, which damaged them a good amount. Aqua then gathered energy for the Finish, and did a front flip to attack at the Unversed. The Unversed on the ground were then destroyed, the vial was still in the air, though. Experiment 626 finished it off with his blasters.

Drone like Unversed showed up, so Aqua used a magnet spell to bring them together. She launched a fireball at them, which exploded on impact, destroying them. Another drone appeared, followed by some more balloons. Aqua used magnet once again, so they ended up bunched together in the air again. She also used ice magic to freeze them completely. Experiment 626 was jumping up and down, like he had an idea, so Vanitas walked over to him. The alien jumped into Vanitas' hand, and Vanitas understood the plan immediately.

Vanitas threw Experiment 626 towards the Unversed, and he took them both out in one hit.

Once the Unversed were gone, Experiment 626 crawled a few feet away from Aqua and Vanitas.

"Thanks," Aqua said. "I owe you."

The alien was still looking around the prison area.

"What is it you're looking for?" Aqua asked.

He turned around to look at them.

"Ter-ra," he stuttered out.

He then turned and jumped on one of the pillars of the wall.

"Wait!" Aqua called to him. "I just need to ask you..."

Experiment 626 then climbed up one of the wall pillars, away from them.

"I was right," Vanitas said. "He's looking for Terra."

* * *

"Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626 have been sighted," the Grand Councilwoman told Aqua and Vanitas in the control room. "At that time, the two of them were wandering around the launch deck. Would you see that they're secured?"

"Is Experiment 626," Aqua started. "Really that dangerous of a creature?"

Vanitas expressed his intrigue in the question by looking at the Grand Councilwoman curiously.

"We must assume so," the Grand Councilwoman said.

"All right, then," Aqua said. "I'll head over there now."

The two of them left the control room and started walking through the hallways towards the launch deck.

"He doesn't really seem too dangerous," Vanitas said. "Unless someone is trying to mess with him, of course."

"That doesn't change things," Aqua commented. "We still have to take them into custody."

The two of them went through some anti gravity room, and entered the launch room from the tallest point. They looked down to watch what Vanitas guessed was a family dispute between Jumba and Experiment 626.

"Is time to give up," Jumba said, walking towards Experiment 626. "Then I will fix abnormality, and ridiculous behavior stops."

Experiment 626 spoke gibberish angrily at Jumba. Before it could go any further, Aqua interrupted them.

"Hold it right there!" Aqua called out as they walked towards them. "Dr. Jumba, Experiment 626, we've been authorized to take to take you into custody."

Experiment 626 looked into Aqua's hand, and saw that she was carrying the Wayfinder he had made. Vanitas stood back and smiled as Experiment 626 leaped towards her and snatched it from her hand while screaming "Terra!". He landed a few feet away, and fondled his Wayfinder with a big smile on his face. He reminded Vanitas greatly of his nephew that was a total momma's boy.

"So it really does belong to you," Aqua said. "But... where have you seen that shape?"

Jumba explained.

"Is copy he made of good luck charm that boy Terra show to him," he said. "Terra said friend gave him charm, was very protective of it."

"He really said that to you?" Aqua asked, hopefully.

"Yes," Jumba said.

"Of course he did," Vanitas smiled.

Aqua placed her hand on her heart.

"Then you're still all right, Terra," she whispered.

"And now," Jumba continued, exasperated. "Because of Terra and his little bauble my genius creation is hesitating in his genetically programmed destructive instincts. Just look at him."

The conversation ended quickly when a laser blast almost hit Experiment 626. They all looked up in surprise to see Gantu standing on a ledge, pointing his gun at Experiment 626.

"What the heck, man?" Vanitas yelled at him.

"What are you doing?" Aqua yelled at him. "Our orders are to capture them alive!"

"I've decided to take a new approach," Gantu announced. "All right, you two; Any last words before I blast you into a million pieces?"

Experiment 626 yelled gibberish at Gantu, which only the man in question understood.

"I'm just big-boned!" he yelled.

He jumped off the ledge and ran towards Experiment 626 as he ran to a hanger like area.

"Freeze!" Gantu yelled after 62.

Aqua and Vanitas followed just as quickly behind Gantu. They caught up just as Gantu cornered 626 at the airlock.

"Stop it!" Aqua yelled, her Keyblade drawn.

"Right now!" Vanitas agreed, his Keyblade also drawn.

"I warned you," Gantu growled. "Stay out of it!"

"I guess we have to do this the hard way," Aqua said.

"And I love the hard way," Vanitas said.

Vanitas and Aqua dodged out of the way as Gantu shot his blaster at them. Experiment 626 shot his own blaster at the giant man. Both Aqua and Vanitas launched balls of fire at him, which exploded on impact. Vanitas jumped up and launched lighting from his hand at Gantu. Aqua launched lightning directly at the giant, the attacked him once. This helped her get enough energy and momentum to start a Command Style.

"Aqua entered a lightning based Command Style and started attacking Gantu while 626 shot at him with his blasters, and Vanitas threw his Keyblade at the giant's head like a boomerang. Vanitas' Keyblade flew back into his hand as Aqua continued her combo. She launched another fireball at Gantu, which gave her enough energy to enter a more powerful Command Style. This one encased her Keyblade in energy, elongating it's reach. She attacked Gantu with a combo as 626 kept firing his blasters. Vanitas joined in by performing a move he decided to name Sonic Blade. He rushed in, attacking Gantu multiple times, sliding into him again and again. He finished it with a really powerful final blow.

Aqua noticed Experiment 626 jumping up and down, figuring that he had an idea. So, she picked him up, and threw him at Gantu. Experiment 626 grabbed at Gantu's face, and started messing with him. Aqua then used fire magic, thunder magic, and ice magic to attack Gantu, then added in a combo. Vanitas used his stored Finish attack to do a strong swipe at Gantu.

Aqua kept attacking, building enough energy to completely fill energy to fill up her final attack, then threw 626 in Gantu's face again. Aqua began her ultimate Finish attack, and spun the blade around multiple times, hitting him with every strike, and ended it with a strong slash, also finishing off Gantu.

"I'm not done with you yet," Gantu said, his blaster raised.

"Enough!" the Grand Councilwoman's voice announced.

Vanitas and Aqua dismissed their Keyblades as they watched the Grand Councilwoman walked into the hangar.

"I observed everything on the monitor," the Grand Councilwoman said.

"I-I can explain." Gantu said, nervously.

The Grand Councilwoman walked over to Aqua and Vanitas.

"Aqua, Vanitas, you've both been of great service," she said. "Thank you."

Aqua and Vanitas both looked to Experiment 626, worried for him. The Grand Councilwoman, meanwhile, looked at Gantu.

"Captain Gantu," she declared. "Escort 626 to the asteroid to which he's been banished. When you return, you're back on patrol."

Gantu looked down, sadly.

"Not patrol!" he whined out.

Dr. Jumba, the Grand Councilwoman, and Experiment 626 were all walking away from the hanger, and Aqua and Vanitas knew they had to act fast.

"Please, Your Highness," Aqua called out. "Would you consider sparing Experiment 626?"

The woman stopped in her place.

"Spare him?" she asked, turning to look at the two.

"He's an extremely dangerous creature," the Grand Councilwoman declared. "I cannot release such a menace."

"We said the same thing about my Uncle Tobias," Vanitas commented. "But they ignored us, and he proved us wrong."

_Which is why he never comes to Thanksgiving dinner anymore,_ he thought.

"Exactly," Aqua said. "It seems to me he's at least trying to make friends. And dangerous or not, I really believe he can succeed."

The Grand Councilwoman walked towards the two of them.

"Very well, you two," she declared. "If he behaves himself, I will consider shortening his exile."

"Thank you, ma'am," Aqua and Vanitas both said.

They both walked over to Experiment 626, who was holding his Wayfinder in two of his four hands. They knelt down, and Aqua put her hand gingerly on 626's Wayfinder.

"I like the charm you made," she told him with a smile.

"Yeah, it's nice," Vanitas agreed. "It shows a fine level of craftsmanship."

"Do you think maybe," Aqua started. "Our circle of friends could become part of yours?"

She put her hand on her heart.

"My name is Aqua," Aqua told him. He nodded. "This is Vanitas. Our friends are Terra and Ventus."

"Ah-koo, wah, fren," Experiment 626 said. "Va-nee-tis, Terra, Ven."

Aqua chuckled and she and Vanitas stood back up. Experiment 626 turned around, and continued out of the launch deck with Jumba and the Grand Councilwoman.

"I've got faith in that little guy," Vanitas said.

"So do I," Aqua said, her hand at her heart again. "Well, we should leave."

"You go on ahead," Vanitas said. "I'm gonna stay back and clear up any remaining Unversed."

"All right," Aqua nodded. "Don't be too long."

"No promises," Vanitas smirked.

Aqua summoned her armor and Glider and flew away into the Lanes Between. The smile quickly faded from Vanitas' face when he felt a familiar presence.

Vanitas turned around, summoned his Keyblade, and stood ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working hard now to get through this story, because I want to get to the interactions of Vanitas and Sora's gang, and get to the crossover stories. I worked literally all day on this, trying to manage time to type it out. So glad I have the time to do it


	19. Rematches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas fights a couple of old adversaries again.

Vanitas blocked just in time before multiple familiar darts could hit him. His Keyblade absorbed every last dart. He looked up to see the man Braig kneeling on top of a big purple crate, the man's crossbows pointed at him.

Braig had changed since they last met. A large scar was now on the side of his face, he had a black eyepatch covering one of his eyes, and his other eye was now a golden color. One he had seen before...

"How ya doing, Vanitas?" Braig called out, laughing. "Having fun with the aliens?"

"How did you get here?" Vanitas called out, sternly. "We're a long way from Radiant Garden!"

"Like I said," Braig explained, his hands still on his crossbows. "The old man wanted my help bringing chaos to other worlds. Of course he would teach me how to travel to them."

"Drat," Vanitas whispered to himself. "He's right, the old prune would want him to be able to travel on his own."

He looked up at Braig.

"I'm guessing you're here 'cause you still want to do suicide by Keyblade Wielder?" Vanitas asked, in a condescending voice.

"I have my reasons for wanting to fight you," Braig said, scornfully. "Besides, I learned my lesson with going too far when your friend, Terra, did this to me."

He gestured to the scar on his face and the eyepatch.

Vanitas stared in surprise. Terra had done that to this guy? There, there had to be a reasonable explanation for this... right?

He then looked up, scorn on his face.

"And yet, you're here trying to fight me again," Vanitas said. "Shows how smart you are."

"But this time," Braig said. "I don't have to hold back."

"You were holding back last time?" Vanitas asked. "No wonder you were so easy to beat."

Braig looked at him, angrily.

"I'm gonna make you eat those words, you little punk!" the man declared.

"Bring it on, you old pirate," Vanitas retaliated.

Vanitas rushed forward to attack just as Braig fired multiple darts at him. Vanitas absorbed the darts with a slash of his Keyblade and lunged at Braig. Braig teleported away just as Vanitas landed on the crate. Through his peripheral vision, Vanitas could see Braig standing on the ledge from earlier.

"Doh!" Braig grunted as he fired multiple darts at Vanitas, then teleported away again.

Vanitas backflipped off of the crate, dodging the darts. He continued to backflip around the launch deck as Braig kept teleporting to one area, firing darts, and teleporting away. He did a pretty good job at dodging the darts, but one or two still managed to hit him. Vanitas gritted his teeth at being hit, as the darts were actually pretty painful, but he fought through the pain, and kept going.

Braig then decided to try to be smart and fired a bigger, blue dart at Vanitas. This one trailed energy as it flew towards him. He was prepared, though. As the dart closed in on him, Vanitas landed on his feet, and swiped his Keyblade. The dart was deflected back at Braig, who got hit right in the chest. The man grunted in pain, then teleported right in front of Vanitas, his crossbow pointed at Vanitas' head.

Vanitas ducked as Braig fired the crossbow multiple times. He then did a spinning side kick at the man's hand, knocking the crossbow to the ground. Braig then tried pointing his other crossbow at Vanitas' stomach. Vanitas backflipped out of the way, and threw his Keyblade at Braig. The Keyblade hit Briag once again in the chest. Of course, as Vanitas made sure it wasn't lethal, the man just grunted in pain. The Keyblade flew back into Vanitas' hand as Braig retrieved his other crossbow.

Vanitas rushed forward again, this time doing a side slash toward Braig's head. The man ducked, and delivered a kick to Vanitas' side. Vanitas grunted and dodged in barely enough time to miss an attack to the face with a crossbow. Vanitas made another slash, this time hitting Braig in the leg with the flat of his Keyblade. This knocked the man to the ground, In which Vanitas sent up Thunder magic. The man teleported away just as the lightning hit the ground.

"Armed," Vanitas heard Braig yell somewhere. "Reload!"

Before he could register anything else, multiple darts hit Vanitas in the back in quick succession. It wasn't until the last one that Vanitas was able to leave behind the image. Braig, having learned his lesson from the last time, teleported away from his spot, to now in front of the image. However, the image hadn't gone away yet, Braig noticed with surprise on his face.

"Nope!" Vanitas yelled as he came down behind Briag, knocking the man onto his front on the ground with his Keyblade.

Vanitas stood up straight as Braig continued to lay on the ground.

"You really should learn your lesson with messing with Keyblade Wielders," Vanitas commented.

Braig laughed as he continued to lay on the ground, facing away from Vanitas.

"But the thing is..." Braig started. "This time, I wasn't fighting to see what you could do. This time..."

Braig teleported away, and Vanitas looked around in confusion as he heard the man's voice.

"I was just wearing you down."

Vanitas, rightfully suspicious, pulled out a potion with his free hand and drank it quickly. He learned his lesson after last time. Now, after he finished going against a tough adversary, he took a Potion afterwards, just in case. And he was justified, because he could sense powerful darkness spikes originating in the area.

Recognizing the spikes, Vanitas front flipped out of the way just as a large shard of ice hit the ground where he was standing. Vanitas looked up to the top of the larger ledge to see Master Xehanort looking down at him, anger on the man's face.

"You really thought that chowderhead could tire me out?" Vanitas called up to the old Master. "I have Potions for  _days_ , dude. I'm prepared."

"Yes," Master Xehanort said to Vanitas as he stepped off the ledge, floating down to him. "You really are."

The man stood many feet in front of Vanitas.

"But not prepared enough," the old man said as he summoned his Keyblade. "Not enough to stop what I have planned."

Vanitas scoffed. "I'm a Keyblade Master. I possess powers other Masters wish to have. It might not be easy, but I'm gonna beat you."

Master Xehanort looked at him, a neutral expression on his face.

"Why don't you tell your friends the truth about me?" he asked Vanitas, an evil grin on his face. "After all, you're convinced friendship is important. Why don't you and your friends team up to stop me?"

Vanitas didn't say anything, so Xehanort continued on.

"You haven't let them know about another ability you have," the man said. "Telepathy. In special cases, you can see the future."

Vanitas' expression didn't change.

"You've seen it, haven't you?" Master Xehanort pressed on. "If your friends fight me directly on the promised land... they'll be playing right into my hands."

Vanitas said nothing, knowing the truth behind Xehanort's words. The telepathy worked in weird ways, but it let him know when danger was approaching. And in some cases, while he was sleeping, it let him see the future. He had had a nightmare not too long ago about he and his friends fighting Xehanort and the masked boy in a desert like area, and the dream didn't end well. Vanitas figured that this dream is what would happen if Xehanort wasn't stopped. He didn't completely understand the factors that would lead to this vision, but he knew he had to keep his friends away from Xehanort. He figured if he could keep them from fighting Xehanort, then it would never happen.

Which is exactly why he vowed to take Xehanort down by himself. He didn't care if the odds were against him, he wasn't going to lose his friends to whatever Xehanort was planning.

"Which is exactly why I'm stopping you on my own," Vanitas said as he stood in his battle stance. "I'm not gonna let my friends get hurt my friends."

Master Xehanort chuckled at this.

"I want to call that admirable," the man said, one hand behind his back, the other holding out his Keyblade. "But it's really dumb."

"Screw you," Vanitas said as he ran forward.

Just as Vanitas reached him, Master Xehanort teleported away. Vanitas stood prepared, so just as Xehanort teleported behind him and attacked with a series of slashes, he left behind an image.

Vanitas grunted as he teleported behind the Master and attacked him with a downwards slash down the back. Xehanort grunted in pain as he moved out of the way. He then tried to do another series of slashes at Vanitas, all of them missing, but ended it by trying to attack him with a large chunk of ice. The last attack did hit him, knocking him back.

Vanitas regained his balance again as Xehanort launched three large chunks of ice towards him. He blocked the ice chunks, and ran towards Xehanort again. Vanitas worked in a combo, but Xehanort teleported away before he could get in the last attack. Just as he got back in position after the combo finisher, Xehanort teleported behind him and swiped at his back. The man then teleported away towards the entrance to the hanger.

Before Vanitas could do anything else, Xehanort raised his arm up, and the brightly colored crates floated up into the air, right above him. Vanitas ran forward, and Xehanort pointed his arm at him, sending the crates at him one by one. Vanitas stepped out of the way of one crate, slashed at another crate, knocking it away, and ran up the third crate, jumping over it.

Vanitas lunged towards Master Xehanort and moved to do a side slash at the man. Unfortunately, he teleported away at the last second. Vanitas straightened up and turned around to see Xehanort standing in the middle of the room, a smug smile on his face.

Master Xehanort then raised his arm up, and another nearby crate was raised into the air with his movements. He then launched the crate towards Vanitas at a quicker rate than the others. It moved too quickly, there was no way for Vanitas to dodge out of the way. Vanitas raised his left hand...

And the crate froze in the air in front of Vanitas. Vanitas moved his hand to the left, and the crate followed, being thrown against the wall. With a neutral expression on his face, Vanitas looked at a surprised Xehanort.

"You can do that, too?" the old man asked, genuinely amazed.

"Since the crib," Vanitas answered. "I freaked out a lot of my babysitters like that."

"Amazing," Master Xehanort laughed, his face made into an evil smile. "I couldn't do that until well after I became Master. But you could do it since you were in diapers! Just imagine what we could have done together if you had joined me."

Vanitas looked at the old man, scornfully. "What did I say about talking while fighting?"

Vanitas teleported right behind Master Xehanort, but the old man had anticipated this. They both held their hands out against each other, each using their telekinesis on the other person. The two were then blown back, Master Xehanort into the hanger, Vanitas in front of a nearby control panel, their Keyblades knocked out of their hands.

Vanitas looked up at the panel and got an idea. He stood up, recognized the machine model, and input something into it. Master Xehanort stood up and walked right into the entrance to the launch deck, resummoning his Keyblade.

"You must realize," Master Xehanort called out. "Just because we have similar abilities doesn't mean you can defeat me."

Vanitas looked back at the old man with a smug smile on his face.

"I know," he said, looking at Master Xehanort while he kept his hand on the console. "That's why it's a good thing I'm smarter than you."

He slammed his fist down on a button on the console...

And nothing happened.

Vanitas looked back at the control panel.

"Oh, sorry," Vanitas said, embarrassed. "Wrong button."

As Xehanort looked on with a confused look on his face, Vanitas pressed the right button, turning off the airlock in the hanger. The electric airlock fell down and the air rushed out, pulling out a couple of crates and a screaming Master Xehanort. Vanitas held onto the console as the air rushing out almost pulled him away, too.

"Probably not my best idea!" Vanitas yelled over the wind as he was then raised so he was parallel to the ground, still holding onto the console.

Desperately holding on with one hand, Vanitas used his other hand to input something else into the console. He pressed the button, and a gate closed between the hanger and the launch deck. Vanitas fell to the ground with a grunt, the remaining crates falling around him.

"Ow," Vanitas uttered as he raised his face off of the floor.

While what he did would definitely have killed regular person, Vanitas knew that Xehanort would use the darkness to get away safely. After all, Vanitas wasn't a cold hearted monster like Xehanort. No matter what the old man did, with everything he had been taught, Vanitas wasn't going to kill him.

Vanitas got up into a kneeling position, groaning tiredly.

"What else..." he coughed wheezed out, not having a lot of air. "Could go wrong?"

The ship's alarms then went off, and Vanitas could sense a new being entering the ship somewhere.

"Of course," Vanitas muttered, downing another potion.

Vanitas stood up, reinvigorated, and leaped up towards the top part of the launch bay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a little while. I needed a little break after adding five chapters in a week.


	20. Deep Space: Ventus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to full circle on the spaceship, and Vanitas has a recurring nightmare

Vanitas ran through the hallways of the ship, using his senses to guide him to the new presence, the ships alarms going off the whole time. He eventually made it to the doorway leading to the room with the teleporter in it, when the whole ship shook violently.

"Intruder in the machinery bay!" a voice over the ship's announcer called out. "We lost control of the engines! I-it's some kind of monster!"

"Of course," Vanitas muttered, annoyed.

It seems like the Unversed were really against them having a moment of rest.

The doorway suddenly opened and Captain Gantu ran in. He noticed Vanitas.

"I'll deal with you later," he said as he ran past the ravenette. "I have more important business to attend to."

"You got it, ukutya," Vanitas called back. He really liked speaking in Xhosa to insult people.

Vanitas ran through the doorway to the teleporter room to see Ventus watching in shock as Experiment 626 landed in front of him.

"Ven?" the little alien asked Ventus. "Terra... V... Ah-koo, wah..."

Ventus crouched down to look at him, still having not noticed Vanitas.

"What?" he asked, curious. "You know Terra, V, and Aqua?"

"Your English is getting better, little guy," Vanitas commented, finally making himself present.

"V!" both Ventus and Experiment 626 called out, happily.

Experiment 626 then pulled out his Wayfinder and showed it to Ventus.

"Fren," he announced. "Circle!"

"Hey," Ventus asked, curiously. "Is that a Wayfinder?"

He looked up at Vanitas, expectantly.

"It's a long story," Vanitas said.

The ship shaking again interrupted their conversation.

"The engines are under too much stress," the announcer called out again. "We're risking an explosion!"

"Oh, geez," Vanitas commented.

"What are we doing?" Ventus asked, annoyed at himself. "There's no time!"

He ran forward and joined Vanitas at the door. Before they could go through, Ventus stopped suddenly and turned around to see Experiment 626 following him. He crouched down to look at the little guy again.

"No, you need to stay here," Ventus told him, protectively. "It's too dangerous."

Ventus turned and ran through the door, not noticing the sad look on Experiment 626's face. Vanitas did notice it and quickly followed Ventus.

"Hey, Ven," Vanitas called out once he caught up with his friend. "Remember that talk we had about not judging a book by its cover?"

"Yeah," Ventus said as they ran through the ship's hallways. "Why?"

"Remember it," Vanitas said.

The two ran through the ship, taking out hordes of Unversed along the way. They ran through the launch bay, and through the doorway from earlier. Through there was another doorway that led to the engine room. They ran through the doorway and down the ramp with their Keyblades drawn. The large, jellyfish like Unversed flew around the engine core.

"End of the line!" Ventus called out as they reached the end of the ramp and stood in their battle stances.

The Unversed stopped it's flying around and remained floating in front of the two Keyblade wielders. Suddenly, the room shook again, and above the two on their right side, there was an explosion on the side wall. From that explosion fell Experiment 626 who fell to the ground next to them.

"Hey!" Ventus said, worriedly. "You shouldn't be here."

Experiment 626 growled and yelled gibberish at the Unversed.

"You might want to let him stay and help," Vanitas said.

Ventus looked at Vanitas then back towards Experiment 626. "Was is it?"

The little guy then continued to yell gibberish at the Unversed. Ventus had no choice but to give up and turned to face the monster.

"Go!" Vanitas yelled as he launched a large ball of fire at the Unversed. It then proceeded to turn into many smaller balls of fire that flew in a wide arc to attack it.

While he did this, Ventus ran forwards and attacked the Unversed with a combo. The monster just shrugged it off and started flying around the area. Experiment 626 tried shooting it with his blasters, but it missed.

"Thunder!" Ventus called out as he launched up electricity. The lightning came down in an attack, but again, the monster just shook it off.

The Unversed then attached itself to the engine core and started damaging it. Vanitas noticed Experiment 626 jumping up and down again while Ventus attacked the Unversed with fire. Vanitas ran towards the little guy as Ventus started a thunder based Command Style. Before he could do anything, Ventus then attacked the Unversed with a large Light attack, which knocked it off the core.

Vanitas then picked up Experiment 626, who had curled himself into a ball. He threw the little guy just as the Unversed flew towards them at full speed. Experiment 626 hit the Unversed right in its face, which made it stop.

Vanitas then rushed in and did a combo, which was interrupted as the Unversed did a spin attack using its... mandibles? Vanitas left behind an image just as Ventus rushed in and did a lightning based combo. Vanitas then got the Unversed with a downwards attack from behind as Experiment 626 shot at it again with his blasters.

Ventus launched another exploding fireball at the Unversed, which caused him to enter a new Command Style. This one had six blades form around him. He attacked it with thunder and ice magic as Vanitas did the usual rush in and attack downwards and upwards. Vanitas narrowly missed getting hit by the Unversed's mandibles as Ventus started up his Command Style's Finishing attack. The blonde boy floated up in the air, and the six blades went into the ground, showing off some pattern, which released the energy needed to finish off the Unversed.

Although, once the Light faded, Experiment 626 still screamed gibberish to thin air.

"It's over," Ventus called out behind him. "Cut it out!"

"Dude," Vanitas said as they walked over to him. "Are you okay?"

Ventus tried holding him down, which proved to be useless. Experiment 626 shrugged off his hands, which also knocked him to the ground. Vanitas looked at the Experiment in surprise as he breathed out, eventually calming down.

"What's gotten into you?" Ventus asked the little guy as he sat up.

Experiment 626 turned to face them with a sad expression on his face. He muttered equally sad gibberish as he showed them his Wayfinder, in pieces, in his hands.

"I see," Ventus said, sympathetically. "Your Wayfinder broke."

"Aw, man," Vanitas said, also sympathetically. "You worked so hard on that thing."

"Well, don't worry," Ventus said. "Friendship's more than an object."

"Yeah," Vanitas added. "It's about hanging out with each other."

"Fren-ship... Cir-cle?" Experiment 626 asked.

"Exactly," Vanitas said as he and Ventus nodded.

"Hmph," a voice behind them interrupted their conversation. "Don't let the little mimic fool you."

Ventus and Vanitas turned around and stood in fighting stances as Gantu pointed waved his blaster in the air.

"You saw for yourselves what kind of monster that thing is," he continued. "All it knows how to do is hurt and destroy."

"Monster?" Ventus asked. "He helped us stop the monster!"

"He's a good guy, Gantu!" Vanitas announced. "Why can't you see it?"

"You must have triggered some sorts of mutation," Gantu said. "Hidden in the little freak's genetic coding."

"Idiot..." Vanitas muttered as Experiment 626 stood up.

"Ven. V." he announced. "Frens!"

"That's right," Ventus nodded. "We are friends!"

"Probably one of my cooler friends," Vanitas added.

"Better say your goodbyes now," Gantu said, pointing his blaster at Experiment 626. "Because 626 is about to be destroyed!"

Experiment 626 then jumped up onto Gantu's face and started attacking him. Gantu yelled at him to stop right before he made the Captain fall on his back. Experiment 626 then turned to face the Ventus and Vanitas. He yelled gibberish at them, and they got the message.

"C'mon!" Ventus declared as they started running back down the ramp.

"Move!" Vanitas added, keeping pace with his friends.

"Sound the alert!" Gantu called behind them. "Prisoners on the loose! Don't let them get away!"

They managed to steal a red ship that Experiment 626 flew out of the ship. The two Keyblade wielders followed, Ventus in his armor and on his Glider, and Vanitas in his gauntlets and boots. They were chased by blue ships of similar design. Ventus and Vanitas caught up to Experiment 626 who was having the time of his little life flying the ship as he continuously hit the ship's horn.

"Where are we going?" Ventus asked as he got close to the ship's windshield.

"We don't exactly have a plan," Vanitas added.

The two Keyblade wielders focused on flying while Experiment 626 messed around on the ship's console. He pulled up a lever which started something.

"Hyperdrive activated," the ship's computer told him. "System charging. Warning. Guidance is not functional."

Unfortunately, neither boy heard this, while Experiment 626 grew more nervous.

"Navigation failure."

He put his hand back on the lever and turned it.

"Do not engage hyperdrive. Repeat. Do not engage-"

He pressed in the lever.

"Break formation!" someone in one of the other ships that had somehow surrounded them announced. "Get clear!"

The ships all flew away from the group, as Experiment 626 pressed his face against the window. He yelled gibberish at them and shook his head, fear visible on his face. The two boys got close.

"What is it?" Ventus asked him. "What's going on?"

"Something bad's about to happen, isn't it?" Vanitas asked.

Experiment 626 yelled some more gibberish, before the thrusters opened up some more and the ship flew away very fast. This knocked Ventus and Vanitas away.

"Whoa!" they both screamed.

"Ven! V!" Experiment 626 yelled as he flew through space very quickly.

Ventus and Vanitas both screamed as they were flown through space, with Ventus being thrown off of his board. The impact caused both of them to black out.

* * *

_Images of the future flew through Vanitas' head once again. He and his friends stood in their armor, facing Master Xehanort and Dark Vanitas down a field. Terra rushed forward, and tried lunging at them. Xehanort then made the ground raise up and hit Terra right in the chest._

_Next, Ventus and Vanitas were standing over a hurt Aqua as she launched out magic towards Terra. A barrier surrounded him as a large surge attacked him. The barrier then exploded, throwing Terra onto a new area of land._

_Vanitas fought Dark Vanitas Keyblade to Keyblade, neither one wanting to give in. The surge came back around and hit Vanitas in the back. Dark Vanitas then attacked at his head, destroying his armor helmet._

_Aqua stared up in surprise as Dark Vanitas fell to the ground, and attacked her with a slash down the middle. She fell to the ground, unconscious._

_Some Floods held Ventus down as Dark Vanitas walked towards him. The two then erupted in a surge of energy._

_Vanitas and Aqua jumped towards Ventus with Mickey standing nearby as Light surrounded all of them._

_Terra lay as a circle of Darkness as it overcame him. Aqua jumped in after him as Vanitas lay to the side, clutching his side in pain. After a few minutes of nothing, the circle started to close itself. Having no other choice, Vanitas pointed his Keyblade at the circle and shot a beam of light at it, trying to keep it open. His entire body erupted in pain as cracks appeared on his Keyblade. Vanitas screamed as his Keyblade erupted into light._

_..._ And Vanitas gasped awake, using his hands to help him sit up.

He breathed heavily as he remembered the dream again.

_I have to stop it,_ Vanitas thought, determined.  _I have to stop Xehanort. I can't let that happen. I_ won't.

Vanitas stood up and saw that he was standing on top of a giant rock. He looked over the edge to see that the rock was the main point of an island. Looking down the water, he was able to spot a larger island in the distance, not too far from him.

"Sure is a reverse from the last place," Vanitas commented, sensing people inside the giant, hollowed out rock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one might have been shorter, but I really want to get everything out of the way before I finally get to the conclusion


	21. Fun With Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas hangs out in Neverland with some friends, old and new

Vanitas jumped off the giant, hollowed out boulder and turned around to look at it. It was designed like a skull, with three openings where the eye sockets and mouth hole were. He walked inside the boulder to witness a scene that didn't even surprise him at this point.

Terra stood in the center of the chamber with a treasure chest behind him. He stood in a battle stance, holding his Keyblade as he watched a young, pointy eared, redheaded boy in a green outfit flying around. On a ledge above the Terra, two young boys wearing animal costumes crouched down looking at the chest.

"The light is not yours to take!" Terra yelled at the boy as he flew down to face Terra.

"Uhh..." Vanitas said, uncertainly as he walked forward so he stood next to the chest.

Both Terra and the boy in green took notice of Vanitas appear.

"Good, V," Terra said, sounding grateful. "Just in time, I need your help."

"With what?" Vanitas asked, actually curious.

"Putting him in his place!" Terra said, looking back at the boy in green. "Peter Pan needs to learn that the light isn't his to take!"

"Light?" Peter Pan asked, legitimately curious. "What light?"

Vanitas put two and two together. He looked at the chest and calmly kicked it, knocking it over and open. The jewels, doubloons, and other forms of gold all fell out, and scattered on the ground. Terra looked back at the chest in surprise as he dismissed his Keyblade. Peter Pan walked over to join them, along with the two young boys from up on the ledge.

"Saw that coming," Vanitas said, putting one hand on his hip.

"Now what is this?" Terra asked.

"Pirate treasure, o' course," Peter Pan explained. "Jewels, doubloons... ya know, the usual stuff."

"I've been guarding a pile of loot?" Terra asked, looking down in shame.

"Sounds like you've been tricked," Peter Pan said.

"I'll say," Terra agreed.

"Was it one of those stereotypical looking pirates," Vanitas asked. "Or was it a modern looking dude?"

"Sort of the stereotype," Terra said. He then turned to Peter Pan. "I owe you an apology. I tried to pick a fight over nothing."

"Aw, it was all in good fun," Peter Pan smiled while crossing his arms. "You seem tough, so it would have been nice to fight who's probably such a good swordsman."

"He is," Vanitas said. "I've fought him, he can be tough to take on."

Peter still smiled. "Not every day it happens around here."

"We can spar later if you want," Vanitas offered. "I'm pretty good myself."

"I'll hold you to that," Peter said. "Say, what are your names, anyway?"

"Terra," Terra said, a small smile growing on his face.

"Vanitas," Vanitas said, raising his hand. "V for short."

"Right then," Peter said. "Terra, which way did Hook go?"

"This dude's name is Hook?" Vanitas asked, to which Peter nodded. "Is that because he has a hook for a hand, or is that just his name?"

"It's his name," Peter explained. "But he does have a hook for a hand."

"As for where he went," Terra said. "They said something about a shooting star."

"Shooting star?" Peter asked, suddenly wary. "Tinker Bell must be in danger!"

He turned around.

"Men..."

He started flying away.

"Guard that treasure with your lives!"

"Hang on!" Vanitas yelled.

Peter stopped and looked back at him, confused.

"I'm going with you," Vanitas declared.

"What?" both Terra and Peter asked. "Why?"

Vanitas looked back at Terra.

"I just got here," Vanitas explained. "And I don't like it when people use my friends like that. So I'm gonna get back at him by introducing his face to my Keyblade."

Terra looked wary.

"You don't need to do that..." he tried to say before Vanitas interrupted him.

"I already checked the area," he said. "Fake me's gone, nothing else here to do. I might as well."

Terra sighed out, accepting he wasn't gonna change Vanitas' mind.

"Be careful," Terra told him.

"I will," Vanitas said, then smiled. "Remember which one of us is the Master."

Terra smiled. "You're never gonna let up on that, are you?"

"Nope," Vanitas said as he faced Peter Pan above him.

"All right," Peter said. "You can come. But you're gonna have to keep up."

"That'll be easy," Vanitas said as he smiled a knowing smile.

Vanitas tapped his shoes together, and his sneakers transformed into his boots. He engaged the thrusters, and flew up to join the young boy. Peter looked at him, impressed, before they both flew out of one of the rock's holes and over the water, towards the island.

"You're really good at this," Peter commented as they flew over the water.

"I've had practice," Vanitas smiled.

* * *

The two flew over the island's expanse, trying to find where Peter said an Indian Camp was. He claimed that that was where Tinker Bell was going to be, and where Hook was probably gonna be. Vanitas only half listened as he looked down at the island's greenery. He was very impressed by the island's wilderness, especially since he wasn't that used to it. It was nice to see a different environment.

They reached what an area that Peter claimed was outside of the Indian Camp, where they noticed someone that they both recognized.

"Look out below!" Peter called out to Ventus.

"Hi-dee ho!" Vanitas also called out as they landed in front of the blonde.

"Good to see you, V," Ventus said. "Peter, help. Tinker Bell's been pixie-napped!"

"Then we're too late." Peter said, upset. He crossed his arms. "Hook's gonna pay for this!"

"That guy's name is Hook?" Ventus asked, confused.

"Apparently," Vanitas shrugged his shoulders as his boots transformed back into his sneakers.

"Anyway," Ventus said, determined. "He said to meet him at Mermaid Lagoon."

Peter took that in.

"Gotta be an ambush. Huh," he turned around. "That old codfish thinks he's clever."

The redhead rose up and started to fly away.

"Hey, we're going, too!" Ventus called out.

"I still gotta teach him a lesson," Vanitas added.

Peter looked back at them.

"Well, we have to hurry," he waved his arm. "Can you keep up?"

"You bet," Ventus nodded.

Peter led the way as Ventus and Vanitas ran after him.

"What happened to you after the hyperdrive threw us through space?" Vanitas asked his friend as they ran.

"I crashed somewhere on the island," Ventus explained. "I woke up holding a pixie, Tinker Bell, in my hand. She kicked me, then I made introductions with her and these two boys dressed like animals, Slightly and Cubby. They were looking for a shooting star, and it seemed cool, so I tagged along. Peter came by and convinced the boys to help him go get pirate treasure."

Vanitas then remembered the two boys dressed like animals back in the cave. They were pretty young, and looked pretty excitable.

"I continued on with Tinker Bell," Ventus continued as they ran past a big tree with a big hole near the bottom. "We got to the Indian Camp, and it turns out the shooting star was Mickey's Star Shard."

Vanitas looked at Ventus in surprise, remembering the mouse they had made friends with.

"I know," Ventus said in an equally surprised manner. "Hook then showed up and snatched away Tinker Bell and the Star Shard. Unversed then surrounded me, and Hook escaped while I was fighting them."

The two ran into what the guessed was Mermaid Lagoon, since Peter flew down so he was next to them.

"What about you?" Ventus asked.

"Well," Vanitas started before he heard something. "Wait..."

They stopped running, and Peter landed next to them as the sound of something falling originated from somewhere. They all looked around in confusion before a cannonball landed behind them, exploding on impact, causing them to stumble forward slightly.

"Cannon fire?" Ventus asked, looking where the cannonball originated from as he and Vanitas summoned their Keyblades. "Where's it coming from?"

"On the water!" Peter announced. "Over there!"

Ventus and Vanitas followed Peter's gaze as he pointed at a pirate ship out in the sea. All three boys ran away as the ship fired another cannonball. It exploded where they were originally standing as Ventus and Vanitas dismissed their Keyblades. A light then flew towards them through the smoke.

"Tink, it's you!" Peter said as the light flew in front of him. "And you're all right!"

Vanitas could make out the image of a small blonde woman in a green dress where the light was originating from. Again, he's seen weirder, so he wasn't even surprised at this point. The pixie flew up so she was in Peter's face and started talking to him in a way that neither Ventus or Vanitas could understand.

"What?" Peter asked. "A strange fellah with a funny-lookin' sword has..."

He was interrupted as another cannonball shook the ground.

Peter turned to Ventus and Vanitas. "Hold on, I gotta stop that cannon!"

"Okay," Ventus said. "We'll go after Hook!"

"Give him the old one, two," Vanitas punched the air with his fists to emphasize his point.

"Right," Peter said, turning to look at Tinker Bell. "Tink, if you would."

Tinker Bell nodded, then flew around Ventus and Vanitas, letting glowing dust fall on the two. They both watched in surprise before they looked at Peter.

"What..." Ventus started to ask.

"The heck?" Vanitas added.

"It's pixie dust," Peter explained. "Bet you feel lighter now, don'tcha?"

Peter then rose up and flew towards the pirate ship. Ventus and Vanitas then turned in the direction where they figured Hook had gone. Luckily, Vanitas had looked into Peter's head during that little event, so he knew what they had to do.

"Think of a happy thought," Vanitas said.

Before Ventus could ask what that meant, Vanitas rose up into the air, the same glowing dust around him as Peter. Ventus quickly caught on and didn't hesitate to think a happy thought, then joined Vanitas up in the air.

"Nice!" Ventus laughed.

He then flew forwards a little awkwardly.

"Don't worry," Vanitas told him. "You get better with practice."

The two decided to just fly to where Hook was, figuring it would be faster.

"So you didn't say," Ventus started as they flew through the island. "What happened to you?"

"I landed on a giant skull shaped rock," Vanitas explained. "Turns out Hook tricked Terra into believing that there was Light in the chest, and Peter wanted it for himself. I got there right before Peter and Terra could fight, and I kicked over the chest. Exposed the treasure."

"Of course you did," Ventus laughed. His expression quickly grew serious. "So what happened after that?"

"Terra told us that Hook had decided to go after the Shooting Star, which you and Tink were finding," Vanitas continued. "I decided to come with him since he tricked Terra while Slightly and Cubby stayed back to guard the chest. Terra's already gone, though."

Ventus looked disappointed at that, but shook it off.

"As long as we get Hook," Ventus said.

"Exactly," Vanitas nodded as they landed on the ground, neat a new expanse of water. "Teach him he can't trick our friends."

They walked out to see the full scale of the water expanse in an above ground, open aired cavern. They were standing on a rock ground, staring at the water expanse, with another above the water rock ground in the center surrounded by water, and a third one on the other side of the cavern. On the third rock expanse stood a black haired man wearing red that Vanitas assumed was Hook. The hook where his left hand should have been was a strong indication. The two summoned their Keyblades as Hook took notice of the cannon fire stopping.

"Alas, and so passeth a worthy opponent," he monologued, sadly. "To think, that his would be such an inglorious end."

He looked down, sadly, before he quickly erupted into a fit of wicked laughter.

"At last," Hook said, happily. "That scurvy brat will never bother me again!"

"We wouldn't be so sure of that, Hook!" Ventus called out.

Hook turned around, confused to see the two of them on the other side of the cavern.

"Swoggle me eyes!" Hook screamed in surprise.

"Oh, come on," Vanitas said, modestly. "We're not  _that_ bad looking, are we?"

"No," Hook exclaimed as he turned around. "Don't tell me."

He ran to the edge of the other rock ground, and looked through a telescope towards his ship. Vanitas could sense that he was looking at Peter as he stood over the cannon operator, pumping his chest in victory. Hook then grumbled angrily and threw down his telescope.

"Blast that Peter Pan!" he exclaimed before he turned around. He leaped onto the center platform and unsheathed his sword, staring them down. Before they could proceed, the sound of ticking appeared from somewhere. This make Hook really nervous.

"That sound..." he said, looking around.

He turned around to see an alligator staring at him expectantly, and jumped up in surprise.

"No!" Hook screamed in terror. "Not again! S-stay away from me!"

He turned back around to be facing Ventus and Vanitas, who had gotten onto the rock platform.

"I don't think so," Ventus declared.

"No one tricks our friends," Vanitas added.

Hook quickly got his nerve back and stared the two down while holding his sword. He started by doing a powerful slash, which Ventus dodged easily. Hook then pulled preasents boxes out of his back pocket and threw them towards Vanitas. Vanitas got out of the way as they blew up where they landed. Ventus blocked as Hook tried to make some jabs at him. It worked, so he retaliated by rushing in and attacking Hook. This knocked the man back into a backwards roll. He stood up while Ventus started a Command Style. Vanitas rushed in and did his downwards slash and upwards slash on Hook, knocking him around a bit.

Ventus then strategically attacked Hook with part of a combo and dodging, making sure he didn't get hit. This made Hook get pressed back to the edge of the rock platform, where he started to lose his balance. Ventus took advantage of this, and struck Hook in the chest, knocking him into the water with the alligator.

"Man!" Vanitas said with a mixture of surprise and proud. "Dude, that was  _dark_."

Ventus then looked embarrassed, and tried to explain himself.

"Dude, it's okay," Vanitas said. "I was just joking."

Hook then screamed as the alligator bit him, so he jumped into the air. He ran through the air, right back onto the rock platform. After he caught his breath, his face grew red, and steam came out of his ears.

"You scurvy brats!" Hook declared, jumping up and down. "I'll run you through."

Both Ventus and Vanitas then had to dodge like wild as Hook ran after them, slashing with his sword left and right. Once he was done, Vanitas rushed in and fought Hook sword to sword. Hook held his sword with one hand while Vanitas held his Keyblade in both of his. They both knew enough techniques, so they ended up fighting for a while.

Vanitas looked over at Ventus from over Hook's shoulder and winked. Ventus took the signal, and attacked Hook with an attack with lots of swipes and stabs. Once he finished that, they knocked Hook off the rock and into the alligator's mouth again. Once again, Hook ran on air back onto the platform, and yelled his own brand of curses at the boys.

Hook rushed in to do the many swipes, but Ventus blocked it with his Keyblade, ending it. This also gave Ventus enough time to use up the energy he had gained to start a new Command Style. It was the one with six blades again. He didn't hesitate to rush in and use a combo on Hook.

Between Ventus using a combo on him from the front, and Vanitas using a combo on him from the back, there really wasn't much Hook could do to defend himself. So, when Ventus gained enough energy, he ended the battle by using his Command Style's finish attack.

The final blow sent Hook off the rock screaming, into the water. He regained enough of his senses to witness the alligator in front of him. He jumped up and turned around just as the alligator lunged at him.

"Leave me alone!" Hook screamed as he started running on the water away from the alligator. "Help me, Smee! Smeeeeee!"

He ran along the water through a crack in one of the stone walls, and continued running until he was out of sight.

"He'll be fine," Vanitas said.

"You sure?" Ventus asked.

"Of course," Vanitas confirmed. "Maybe."

Before Ventus could respond to that, they heard someone else's voice.

"Ahoy! Look what we brought!"

They turned to see a rowboat coming to shore at the third rock shore. Slightly and Cubby were riding in the boat with the chest, waving towards Ventus and Vanitas, Peter Pan flying right above them.

"It's a pirate's treasure chest!" Slightly called out.

They reached the shore and took out the chest. The group stood around the chest, eager to see what was inside.

"Treasure!" Ventus said, excitedly.

"Yup!" Peter confirmed. "The same chest I told ya about. We snatched it right from Hook's hiding place, with a little help from V here."

Vanitas smiled, proudly.

"I already know what I'm gonna do with my share," he laughed.

Peter then opened the chest, and both he, Ventus, and Vanitas were surprised to see that the chest was empty.

"NOOOOO!" Vanitas said in a dramatic way, getting on his knees and raising his arms. He finished it by looking down, sadly.

"How come it's empty?" Peter asked.

"Uh, sorry, but," Cubby said, sad. "We losted all the treasures."

"Oh, well," Ventus said, also sad, as Peter stood up. "That's too bad."

"Aw, who needs it?" Peter asked. "It was prob'ly just full of dumb old jewels or doubloons or somethin' anyways."

Vanitas looked up at Peter in shock at his words. Did this kid not know the value of gold in this economy!? He was gonna use it to buy his mom a home theater for his weekly visits!

Slightly spoke up. "We could just put what we treasure in there instead, if ya wanna."

"Yeah, that's perfect!" Peter said, happy. "Instead of fillin' it up with jewels and gold and stuff, we'll put in what's truly special to us. The real riches!"

Ventus and Vanitas watched as Peter and the young boys filled the chest with the stuff they treasured.

"You were really upset by that chest being empty," Ventus commented.

"Dude, you didn't see what they had in that chest," Vanitas said. "I was gonna take my share and do something good for my mom."

"Don't worry, you can be a loving son later," Ventus said. "You'll find a way to do it for her."

"Yeah, you're right," Vanitas begrudgingly admitted. "That just seemed like the quick and simple solution."

The others had finished, and looked oveer at Ventus and Vanitas.

"What are you guys puttin' in?" Peter asked.

"I don't really have anything on me that I treasure," Vanitas admitted. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Peter said, sympathetically. "What about you, Ven?"

"I don't know..." Ventus thought about it with his hand on his chin.

He reached into his back pocket and (somehow) pulled out the wooden Keyblade that Terra gave him so long ago.

"How 'bout this?" Ventus asked.

Vanitas was surprised.

"You're gonna put that in there?" he asked.

"Hm," Peter said. "What is it?"

"It's," Ventus raised it up into the air. "Just something that one of my best friends gave me."

"So it's like a keepsake, huh?" Peter asked.

"Very much," Vanitas agreed, nodding.

"You sure you wanna part with somethin' that special?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, do you really wanna give that up?" Vanitas asked.

"Yup," Ventus nodded. "I don't need it if I've got you, Terra, and Aqua, V. Our best memories are still ahead."

"All right, then," Peter said.

"If you're sure," Vanitas added.

"Next time you visit," Peter continued. "We'll have an even bigger chest waitin.' Enough for all those treasures and lots more."

"Okay," Ventus nodded at Peter. "It's a deal."

Ventus placed the wooden Keyblade inside the chest. Tinker Bell then showed up carrying Mickey's Star Shard and tried to put in the chest.

"Wait, Tink," Vanitas said.

"I'm pretty sure that belongs to a friend of ours. Do you think maybe I could hold onto it?"

He held out his hand for the shard. Tinker Bell stubbornly shook her head and tried to put it in the chest again.

"Now, Tink!" Peter stopped her.

Begrudgingly, Tinker Bell turned back around and put the Star Shard in Ventus' hand.

"Thank you," Ventus smiled at her.

Ventus then looked down at the Star Shard, curiously, before it erupted in light. Everyone gasped as the light eventually blinded them, so they couldn't see. Once the light had faded, Ventus was gone.

"He," Slightly stammered. "He's gone."

"Apparently," Vanitas agreed.

Cubby looked up. "Look! The light!"

They watched as the light bounced around, Ventus no doubt within it.

"Don't worry, men," Peter said, confidently. "No matter where that light takes him, Ven'll always have friends waitin' to meet him."

"Very true," Vanitas said with a small smile, his hand in his pocket.

They continued to watch the light bounce around before it disappeared.

"So what do we do now?" Vanitas asked.

Peter looked back at him, a knowing smile on his face.

"How 'bout another treasure hunt?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wanted to add in most of the bit where he's with Aqua in this chapter, along with his flashback to The Last Night, and have the next chapter entirely be the battle of V and Aqua vs Dark Vanitas, but i realized this one was running long and I ran out of time in the day. I'll have the next chapter done as quickly as I can tomorrow


	22. Interrupted Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas takes a little break with his friends in Neverland. Unfortunately, trouble is never far away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly losing track of the passing days at this point.

Vanitas walked around Mermaid Lagoon, following Peter's instructions carefully, his jacket slung over his shoulder, revealing his black t shirt that showed off his muscled arms. They had hidden the chest somewhere on the island and made a map to find it. The map was also hidden, and whoever found it first would be the one to lead the Exposition to find the chest. Sure, it was juvenile and kind of dumb, but Vanitas really needed a break from the fighting Unversed and evil idiots. He'll take what he can get.

"Man," Vanitas said aloud to himself. "Before the little stint in Disney Town, I think the last time we actually had a break was..."

He trailed off as light came down from the air, moving towards him as he remembered.

The Last Night.

* * *

_"That's discrimination of age, man," Vanitas interrupted Terra as he walked over to greet his friends. "I knew more than him when I was ten, Terra. So don't go all age equals wisdom, man. That's not exactly true. Just ask my uncle Howard."_

_"When'd you get here, V?" Ventus asked as he approached his best friend._

_"Just about an hour ago," Vanitas answered. "I got a letter from the Master yesterday, and you just know I wasn't gonna miss watching two of my best friends join me in the ranks of Master."_

Flash.

_Aqua chuckled as she held up her Wayfinder and answered, "An unbreakable connection." She held hers up to the sky._

_"How do you know so much magic?" Vanitas asked. "All I can do is elemental stuff mostly for fighting."_

_"Practice," Aqua answered with a laugh._

Flash.

_"Exactly," Vanitas said. "It's when you start to devulge into the deepest parts of your heart, to find what you're looking for, when you can really become a Keyblade Master. It's_ _not about the strength of your mind or your body, it's about the strength of your heart."_

_Everyone went silent, because they weren't used to Vanitas saying stuff like that._

_"Wow, that was deep," Ventus said._

_"You're not gonna start saying wise old man stuff on us, are you?" Terra asked. "Like your Uncle Jonas?"_

_"Shut up," Vanitas laughed, and hit Terra in the shoulder._

Flash.

_"You really think you can?" Ventus asked, excited._

_"I'm sure of it," Vanitas answered with a nod of his head. "I mean, i might have to do him a few favors, AND make him think I'll be watching over you the whole time, but I can probably do it."_

_Ventus then gave Vanitas a side hug as they walked._

_"Thanks, V," Ventus said._

_"Okay, okay," Vanitas said, clearly uncomfortable. "You know I don't like physical contact."_

_"I know," Ventus said with a chuckle._

_The others continued to laugh, while Vanitas groaned in discomfort._

* * *

Vanitas smiled as he remembered that night. That was the last time all four of them had been together to have a civil conversation and have fun, and Vanitas missed it.

_It's okay,_ he thought to himself.  _We'll patch things up once this whole mess with Xehanort is over._

At that moment, Vanitas could sense that it was now free reign to look for the map. He might have had an unfair advantage of being able to sense where the map was, but he made up for it by giving Slightly and Cubby a ten minute head start. Now, time was up.

Vanitas ran through the island to the Indian Camp that Vanitas had sensed the map had been hidden. Slightly and Cubby were also there and had just noticed the map. They ran towards it and Vanitas was about to run after them before he noticed someone else.

Aqua picked up the map in curiosity just as Slightly and Cubby got close to it. Vanitas walked over, seeing that the two boys were disappointed at this new development.

"We were so close," Slightly said.

Aqua looked at them curiously as Vanitas reached the boys.

"Eh, you can't win them all," Vanitas said, trying to reassure the boys. "Just ask my Great Uncle Tom. I've been beating him at arm wrestling since I was 12."

The two boys looked up at Vanitas, surprised that he had just gotten there. Aqua also looked at him in surprise.

"Hi," Vanitas waved.

"Too bad, men," Peter Pan said, announcing his arrival as he flew down to them. "Tough break."

"But Pan!" Slightly and Cubby whined as Peter landed near them.

"No buts," Peter told them. "You know the rules. The first one to find and claim the treasure map gets to be the leader."

He walked over to Aqua.

"And that's you."

"Do you make up these rules on the spot?" Vanitas asked.

"Leader?" Aqua asked, uncertain.

"Of the expatition!" Slightly answered.

_How old ARE these guys?_ Vanitas asked himself in his head.

"Uhh, we're goin' on a treasure hunt," Cubby continued. "And that's our map you got!"

Aqua looked at the map in her hand just as Tinker Bell flew into view and into Peter's face. She then spoke to him in a very angry manner in that language of hers.

"Whaddya mean?" Peter asked her curiously. "I never said girls can't be part of the gang. C'mon, Tink, the more the merrier!"

"Aw, she's jealous," Vanitas said in his "weird uncle" voice.

Tinker Bell then flew into Vanitas' face and kicked him in the chin. It hurt him as much as a flick with two fingers would.

"Ouch," Vanitas said to be nice.

Tinker Bell crossed her arms proudly and looked at him like she was his superior.

"I'm sorry," Aqua interjected, putting her hand on her chest. "But I have something else I need to take care of."

She tried giving the map to Peter. "Here, you take it."

Tinker Bell nodded in agreement.

"Too bad," Peter said. "But rules are rules."

Tinker Bell looked at him, once again mad as he crossed his arms.

"I guess we'll just have to call off the treasure hunt," Peter continued.

"Nooo!" Slightly and Cubby whined out.

Both Aqua and Vanitas looked at the two sad boys sympathetically. This caused Aqua to give in.

"All right, you win," she announced. "I'll join you for one 'expatition'."

Slightly and Cubby gasped.

"Whoopee!" they both cheered, jumping into the air.

Vanitas and Aqua both smiled at the boys' happiness.

Aqua opened the map and started reading it, Slightly and Cubby standing on her right, Vanitas right behind her, looking at the map over her shoulder, and Peter and Tinker Bell on her left.

"As far as I can tell," Aqua announced, pointing to a spot on the map. "We're here. And this mark here is where we'll find the treasure."

"Enough pointin'," Slightly said, impatiently. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Calm down, dude," Vanitas told him.

"Exactly," Peter agreed with him. "We still don't even know our leader's name!"

"I'm Peter Pan," he said, pointing at himself. He then gestured to Tinker Bell. "The jealous one over here is Tinker Bell. And you are?"

"Aqua," Aqua answered.

"So you're Aqua!" Peter said in realization.

"Huh?" she asked.

Aqua looked at Vanitas in confusion. He waved it away with his hand, a clear indication of his meaning "it's a long story."

"Now," Peter declared as he rose into the air. "First stop: Mermain Lagoon!"

"Oh," Aqua said, just going with it. "Okay."

As they walked to Mermaid Lagoon, Aqua looked over to Vanitas.

"What are you doing here, V?" she asked him.

"Getting in a well deserved rest," Vanitas answered, stretching his arms and putting his hands on the back of his head. "It might not be what I imagined, but it's something."

"Good," Aqua said. "Because this isn't how I imagined you taking a break."

"Hey," Vanitas said. "As long as it's not fighting boat loads of Unversed, I'll take what I can get."

"Right," Aqua chuckled, then turned serious. "Have you seen Terra and Ven?"

"Oh, yeah," Vanitas told her. "But they're both long gone in the Lanes Between."

"Darn," Aqua said, disappointed.

"They're both okay, though," Vanitas reassured her. "Ven is still proving he can handle himself out here, and Terra is combating the darkness within him pretty well. They're alright."

Peter had joined them as the little group walked into Mermaid Lagoon. Their conversation was interrupted as a familiar, annoying voice called out.

"I have you now, Peter Pan!" Hook called out from on the large rocks in the water.

Hook was smiling. "Today's the day I shall be rid of you forever!"

"I'm busy right now, Hook," Peter called out, annoyed. "We're on an expatition. Can't I show you up some other day?"

"You'll show me up, now!" Hook yelled at Peter. "Give back me treasure!"

"Who's that?" Aqua finally asked.

"Aw, that's just Captain Hook," Peter explained. "He's a two bit pirate codfish."

"He's really annoying," Vanitas added. "Hates Peter. Don't know why."

The little group then turned left and started walking away from Hook as he grew angrier.

"I'll cleave you into two bits, boy!" Hook bellowed. He turned back so he was facing his ship. "Smee!"

As they walked, Vanitas grew curious about who this "Smee" is, so he sensed around the general area, and looked into Hook's head, which he did not like at all. Smee was Hook's right hand man that he insulted a lot. He was overweight, wore a white and blue striped shirt, glasses, pants (of course), and a red hat. His hair was graying, and looked sort of like oversized sideburns. He was talking to someone on the ship, telling them to... fire?

"Uh, oh," Vanitas realized.

The group stopped as they heard the high pitched whining of something falling. Vanitas and Aqua turned around just as a cannonball hit the ground behind them, causing an unnaturally large explosion.

"What do they pack into those cannons?" Vanitas asked, incredulously.

"We're sitting ducks out here," Aqua declared, worried for the others. "Run!"

"Move!" Vanitas agreed as they started running down the path.

Vanitas, Aqua, Slightly, and Cubby ran down the path while Peter and Tinker Bell flew right above them, as the cannonballs kept firing. Lots of them got very close to hitting them, but they managed to get out of the way before they made impact. They ran through the island paths dodging cannonballs until they got out of range of the ship. They followed the paths until they reached the location they were going to. Unfortunately, this led to them staring up a large cliff face.

"What is it?" Aqua asked, walking to a nervous Slightly and Cubby.

"The mark on the map points all the way up there," Cubby answered.

Aqua joined them in staring up the cliff face. Vanitas was a little surprised that they had to go that way, but considering that they had ways to fly, he understood the point of it.

"Aww, relax," Peter consoled them. "A little pixie dust, and we'll be there in a jiffy."

Slightly and Cubby turned to Peter.

"But," Cubby pointed out. "We've never had to flied that high before!"

"What if we fall?" Slightly added.

"Hey," Peter asked, condescending. "When did you two turn into cowards?"

"Don't you think you're asking a bit much of them?" Aqua asked, worried for the boys.

"This is between me and them, Aqua," Peter told her.

"We DO have a way to fly in this world, though," Vanitas whispered to Aqua.

Aqua looked at him, curiously.

"How?" she whispered back.

"You'll see," Vanitas whispered back as Peter crossed his arms at the boys.

"Men," he told them. "Only the bravest of the brave can claim that treasure."

"Yeah, we know," Cubby said, sadly, as he and Slightly turned back to the cliff face.

Peter looked at Tinker Bell.

"Tink," he said to her. "If you would."

She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"We haven't got all day!" Peter told her, sternly.

Tinker Bell reluctantly flew up the cliff face, leaving a trail of pixie dust behind her. Slightly and Cubby used the trail to fly up the cliff, leaving Aqua staring at them, amazed.

"That's pretty much how Peter does it," Vanitas told her. "Luckily he doesn't hog it all."

Vanitas then walked into the trail and rose up into the air a little bit. He stared down at Aqua as she walked into the trail, curiously.

"Nothing's happening," Aqua said, looking at Vanitas. "How do I...?"

"Think of a happy thought," Vanitas told her with a knowing smirk.

Aqua closed her eyes, and Vanitas could tell that she was thinking of something happy, even though he wasn't using his powers. Aqua then started to float in the air, and she opened her eyes in surprise.

"It's okay," Vanitas said, putting his hand up when he saw her scared face. "I do this all the time, it's really no trouble."

Vanitas managed to calm her down, and once he did, she started to laugh.

"We," Aqua said, incredulously. "We're flying!"

"Yeah!" Vanitas agreed with her. "And we didn't need to live through the 60's to do it!"

Aqua and Vanitas laughed as they flew up the cliff after the boys. Aqua was especially happy about it since she had never flown like this before. The excitement on her face surprised Vanitas. He was so used to her being the mature adult, even though she wasn't yet, and it was kind of annoying. Now, though, she seemed like a giddy little kid. It was a nice change of pace.

They continued to follow the boys, until they had to come down for a landing.

"Come on, Aqua," Vanitas told her. "Time to let down."

"But, Vanitas!" she whined like a little kid. "This is so much fun."

Aqua quickly realized what she said, and quickly landed next to Vanitas, who had the biggest smile on his face, finding amusement in the situation.

"Never tell anyone about that," Aqua told him, a little afraid.

"You have my word," Vanitas said with one hand up, the other one behind his back with his fingers crossed.

The little group continued down the path until they ended up back in the crest area outside the Indian Camp.

"Hey," Aqua said, looking around. "Aren't we back where we started?"

"We just went in a giant circle," Vanitas realized.

"You mean we went all the way around Never Land for nothin'?" Slightly asked, disappointed.

"Well," Peter pointed out. "Ya conquered all sorts of obstacles to get here. And to me, that's certainly not nothin'."

"He's got a point," Vanitas agreed. "Sometimes it's not about the reward, it's about the journey to get there."

"You know," Aqua told Peter. "I had you all wrong. You were just looking out for them back there. Being a good leader."

"Yeah, of course I was," Peter agreed.

_Little bit of an egomaniac, too,_ Vanitas told Aqua in her mind, which made her laugh.

Once again, they were interrupted by the arrival of Captain Hook.

"You're too late, Peter Pan!" he called out to them.

Hook and his lackey, Smee, were standing on a rock expanse above them with the treasure chest from earlier. Hook had a smug smile on his face, which made Vanitas realize something: he thought his gold was still in that chest. He smirked at what he could tell was about to happen.

"It's Hook!" Peter announced.

"Smee," Hook told the other pirate. "Secure me treasure."

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!" Smee said.

"He's not gonna like what he finds in that chest," Vanitas whispered to Aqua.

Smee opened the chest, and gasped in surprise at it's contents.

"What is it now?" Hook asked, angrily, as Smee looked into the chest, worried.

"C-Cap'n," Smee stammered out. "It's the treasure. It's b-been..."

"Spit it out, you idiot!" Hook declared as he looked in the chest.

Hook was very surprised to see that his chest had been filled with wooden swords, a wooden Keyblade, and other knick knacks.

"Odd's fish!" Hook yelled. "It's all junk!"

"Told you," Vanitas whispered to Aqua again, still smirking.

"Whaddya mean, junk?" Peter called out to Hook. "Those are our treasures, Hook!"

The pirate looked at them, seemingly oozing anger.

"But what did you do with MY treasure?" Hook asked them.

"Oh," Cubby called out. "We losted it all."

"You what!?" Hook yelled. "You scurvy brats have crossed me for the last time!"

Hook had broken out of his train of thought once again by the sound of a ticking clock.

"Hmm?" Hook asked, growing nervous. "What's that? That sound..."

He looked around, and saw in one of the creeks that the alligator from earlier had shown up.

"Not you again!" Hook yelled, terrified. "No, get away from me! Smee! Do something!"

He turned around, and started running away in fear, once again yelling "Smee!"

"Wait, Cap'n!" Smee yelled as he ran after Hook.

Peter, Slightly, Cubby, Vanitas, and Aqua all laughed at what had happened. They retrieved the chest and stood around it, staring at it's contents. Aqua quickly recognized the wooden Keyblade that Terra had given Ventus. She picked it up.

"Is this," Aqua started to ask.

"Oh, Ventus left that here," Peter explained. "I guess it's a special keepsake or somethin'. But don't worry about him. He said he would be alright without it."

"I checked with him to be sure he was being serious," Vanitas added.

"And then he promised to visit us again with even better treasures," Peter continued. "Maybe enough to fill a hundred treasure chests."

Aqua looked down at the wooden Keyblade in her hands.

"Right," Aqua said. "You said that Ven... He was here..."

She looked to her left, suddenly, just as Vanitas could also sense it. It was coming from the Indian Camp.

"And someone else," Aqua finished, now on edge.

"I sense it, too," Vanitas said as he pulled his jacket off of his shoulder, and put his arms in the sleeves.

"What's the matter?" Cubby asked.

"It's nothing," Aqua told them. "Best that you stay here."

"You guys don't need to worry about this," Vanitas added, zipping up his jacket. He muttered, "So much for the break."

Aqua and Vanitas ran into the Camp, looking around as they did to see if they could find him. They reached the center before he finally presented himself.

"So, have a good time hanging out with the kiddies?"

They turned around to see Dark Vanitas walking towards them, somehow holding Ventus' wooden Keyblade.

"How'd you get that?" Aqua asked.

"Gotta admit, that's a very good question," Vanitas added.

"I think that kid's outgrown such a childish toy," Dark Vanitas said as he held out the wooden Keyblade.

He placed his hand on the other end.

"If you ask my opinion," Dark Vanitas declared as he snapped the wooden Keyblade into half.

Both Aqua and Vanitas gasped in surprise as Dark Vanitas tossed the pieces aside. They watched the pieces as they landed on the ground. Both Aqua and Vanitas then stared at Dark Vanitas in anger.

"Just like," Dark Vanitas continued as he summoned his Keyblade and stood in his battle stance. "I've outgrown my need for you both."

Aqua gritted her teeth in anger.

"You freak!" she yelled before she summoned her Keyblade and stood in her battle stance.

"You're dead," Vanitas added as he also summoned his Keyblade.

Vanitas rushed in and he and Dark Vanitas fought Keyblade to Keyblade, each parrying the other's attacks for a good amount of time, before Dark Vanitas made Vanitas jump back by attacking him with ice. Dark Vanitas then launched a fireball at Aqua, and she teleported behind him before it made impact. She then launched a fireball at his back, which knocked him into the air. Vanitas then launched up Thunder, which came down on Dark Vanitas in an arc. The lightning hit him, but he remained in the air, frozen.

"See ya," Dark Vanitas snapped out as he came down with a downwards slash behind Vanitas. Luckily, Vanitas had moved out of the way before it made impact.

Aqua then attacked Dark Vanitas strategically, attacking then dodging out of the way from his attacks. He jumped in the air and launced lightning down at her, and teleported behind him, striking at him. He left behind another image, and Aqua started a fire based Command Style, moving out of the way before he made impact. She moved out of the way and set a barrier around herself as Dark Vanitas rushed in with a downwards slash and an upwards side slash. Aqua managed to continue dodging attacks and attacking when she should have. She blocked his moves, did counter attacks, and launched out basic elemental spells to attack. She did manage to start a new Command Style, this one making her Keyblade longer with energy. This went on for a little while, neither one doing much damage to the other. So, Vanitas decided to do something.

Vanitas then launched lots of fireballs at Dark Vanitas from his Keyblade, all of them hitting the masked boy, due to the heat seeking nature of their projectiles. To combat this, Dark Vanitas floated in the air, new energy surrounding him.

"There's no escape," Dark Vanitas declared before he landed on his feet.

Dark Vanitas then jumped up into the air, then downwards stabbed into the ground, going into it. A dark circle appeared where he was, and started to follow Vanitas. Being smart, Vanitas ran over it, making Dark Vanitas come out of the ground, stabbing upwards. Vanitas used this method two more times, tricking Dark Vanitas both times. Of course, he made sure to get out of the way they third time, since Dark Vanitas launched out a bunch of fireballs to the ground as he rose into the air.

Once the fire had faded, Vanitas ran in and started to do a series of swipes and slashes at Dark Vanitas, managing to keep the attacks going as the masked boy teleported and cartwheeled away. Vanitas finished the move with a particularly powerful slash that sent Dark Vanitas back, once again whining like a toddler.

Aqua then came in and did a combo that related to her Command Style, getting in lots of strong attacks with her elongated Keyblade. She still ramained smart and attacked slowly enough to be sure to block when she needed to. And she did need to, as Dark Vanitas was attacking relentlessly.

Vanitas helped her out once again. As Dark Vanitas tried coming down behind Aqua again, Vanitas launched a shard of ice at him. It hit Dark Vanitas in the back, which made him lose his concentration. He landed next to Aqua, who then proceeded to attack with another very powerful combo. She had gathered enough energy in her Command Style Finish, and attacked him multiple times with it's spin attack. Unfortunately, he managed to get in a particularly strong swipe to her stomach as she was reeling off the energy from the attack.

"Hey!" Vanitas declared as he rushed in to help his friend.

Vanitas then attacked Dark Vanitas relentlessly with his own combo, keeping pace as Dark Vanitas tried teleporting or cartwheeled away again. He even managed to do his own teleporting and cartwheeling around the little weasel, getting in lots of attacks on him. Until Vanitas had finally gathered up enough energy to do a Finish, which he took advantage of. He pulled back, gaining energy, and did a front flip forward, finishing off Dark Vanitas, and throwing him back with the move's knock back. He landed on the ground, unconscious, and his Keyblade landed near him.

Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade, and ran back to Aqua, who was on her knees, exhausted.

"We've done it," she told him. "He's... finally... finished..."

They looked around, and Aqua noticed the pieces of Ventus' wooden Keyblade again. She stood up to go get them, but fell down on her knees again.

"Hey, hey," Vanitas told her, getting on his knees as well, putting a hand on her shoulder. "This is why I'm always going on about how we need breaks. You're tired, and need some rest."

She then proceeded to fall onto her front.

"Ven, Terra," she whispered, smiling. "You can rest easy..."

"Why don't I like your words?" Vanitas asked her.

Instead of answering, Aqua looked to her left at the glistening water not too far away from the Camp. She lay her head down and closed her eyes. Vanitas would have been worried, but he could sense that she had just fallen asleep. He could also sense that in her dream, she was having a flashback to The Last Night. Vanitas smiled as he staye dat her side, making sure he was okay. They sat like this for so long that Vanitas didn't even notice when Dark Vanitas had left, and Peter and the boys had shown up. Peter kneeled down in front of Aqua.

"Aqua! Aqua! Aqua!" Peter called out her name as she woke up.

"You're okay," Vanitas sighed out.

"Are you all right?" Peter asked. "What happened?"

Aqua started to get up.

"I'm fine," Aqua insisted as she and Vanitas stood up.

Peter then looked to the left, and noticed the broken wooden Keyblade.

"Oh, no!" he declared. "Look at Ven's treasure!"

"It's okay, Peter," Aqua told him, a small smile on her face. "Whatever it is that binds us together isn't going to break so easily, and that's our real treasure."

She reached down and picked up the half of the wooden Keyblade by the hilt.

"I think Ventus knew that," Aqua said as she held the hilt with both of her hands. "That's why he left this behind."

"Makes sense," Vanitas commented, his hands in his pockets.

"You must really be close," Peter commented with his arms crossed. "And that's somethin' pretty special. You guys and Ventus, and, Terra, was it?"

"You got it," Vanitas said, giving Peter the thumb's up.

"One day, you should all come back," Peter said.

Aqua turned to face him.

"I'd like that," she said.

"So would I," Vanitas said. "Then we can do that sword fight."

Peter and Vanitas both chuckled at that. Once Peter and the boys had left, Aqua and Vanitas decided to stick together for a little while. They summoned the portal, and flew through, Aqua in her armor and on her glider, and Vanitas with his helmet, gauntlets, and boots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to do a little of explaining of why Aqua was tired at the end of the battle by adding the addition of the strong attacks to the gut. Also, the reason why Vanitas finishes off Dark Vanitas is sort of to even things up. The last time they fought him together, Aqua finished him off, so I decided to have Vanitas finish him off this time. This won't matter at the end, i just wanted to do it. Oh, and as for the 60's joke, that's actually gonna be pretty tame compared to some of the stuff he'll say later on


	23. Chance encounters and prolonged truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting some kids, Vanitas finally tells Aqua the rest of the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to heat up.

"So you and Ven fought that Hook guy to teach him a lesson for tricking Terra?" Aqua summarized to Vanitas as they flew through the Lanes Between.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Vanitas confirmed. "It was very easy. He's not a very good pirate."

"That I believe," Aqua snickered.

Vanitas started to chuckle as well, but both their attention was quickly drawn to the light originating in the tunnel in front of them.

"What's that light?" Aqua asked as they flew into the light.

"No clue," Vanitas answered before the light took them somewhere new.

* * *

Aqua and Vanitas walked along a wooden bridge that led from the main island to a smaller one with a large tree. Both of them looked around, trying to take in their surroundings. Besides the large gray tree that looked like it would be good to sit on, there were towering, thick brown ones with bright colored leaves, and a thin, gray one with simple green leaves. Aqua looked into the leaves of the larger gray tree to see that it held yellow, star shaped fruit in them. Vanitas quickly remembered what she had told them back on the Last Night and pulled out his Wayfinder.

Aqua smiled before she pulled out hers as well, and looked at it, forlornly.

"Terra," she said. "Ven... I hope we're ready for the storm that's coming."

She held her Wayfinder with both her hands before she looked at Vanitas, who was staring at her with surprise in his eyes.

"What all do you know about what's happening?" Aqua asked him. "And I want the whole truth this time; everything."

Vanitas opened his mouth to speak, but was then interrupted by a small child yelling.

"Hey, wait up!"

They turned towards the bridge, curious.

"Too slow, Sora!" another kid's voice called out. "See ya at the finish line!"

Two young boys were running along the island's beach. One was brunette, wearing a white shirt, red shorts, and light blue sandals. The other had silver hair, and was wearing a yellow tank top with blue trim, blue wristbands, dark gray shorts, and white and blue sneakers. Currently, the silver haired boy was running in front of the brunette boy.

Silver haired boy then came to a stop in front of a wooden ramp under the wooden bridge, and pumped his fist in the air. The brunette boy reached him soon afterwards, and leaned down with his hands on his knees, panting. Once he got his breath back, he faced his friend.

"One more time!" the brown haired boy insisted. "You just got lucky."

The silver haired boy looked at him with a cocky expression, before he looked up, noticing Aqua and Vanitas on the bridge. The brown haired boy grew curious, and turned around to look at them as well. Aqua and Vanitas, in turn, walked forwards on the bridge so that they could be in front of the boys if they were on the ground. They looked at the boys, and the boys looked at them, both groups curious.

Aqua chuckled as she jumped off the bridge, landing in front of the boys, surprising the brunette. Wanting to one up his friend, Vanitas jumped forwards in a front flip, landing on Aqua's right. The two were on their knees so that they were eye level with the two young boys. The brown haired boy rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

Aqua chuckled at him before she turned to look at the silver haired boy, who stared back at her.

 _This boy looks so sincere,_ Vanitas heard Aqua think.  _Just like Terra._

 _And this guy,_ Vanitas said in her head, looking to the brown haired boy.

 _He's the spitting image of Ven,_ Aqua finished for him.

 _Except he looks just like me,_ Vanitas thought.  _Except with brown hair and blue eyes. Man, I hope he's not a brother I never knew._

Something about the brown haired boy seemed so familiar to Vanitas, though. Vanitas could sense light within the boy that nearly reached Ven levels of powerful. He could already tell, this child was gonna be a real good boy when he grew up. But why was that? Maybe instead of Vanitas, he was related to Ven somehow?

Vanitas was pulled out of his thoughts when Aqua chuckled, then the two boys looked at each other, then back at her and Vanitas.

"One of you might be special enough," Aqua whispered, which Vanitas heard.

Vanitas sensed it, and the silver haired boy had had the power of the Keyblade bequeathed to him. It was probably how he had beaten his friend moments ago, and probably how he was undoubtedly gonna beat them at their games further down the line. Vanitas momentarily thought that this wasn't fair, but his thoughts were then pulled towards the brown haired boy again. He, too, had the powers to wield a Keyblade within him, which surprised Vanitas. Undoubtedly, the silver haired boy had gotten his powers, and possibly some strength, from Terra. But who could have given the powers to this other boy?

He was once again pulled from his thoughts by Aqua.

"Hey," she told the boys. "You two mind telling us your names?"

"I'm Sora!" the brown haired boy yelled out, raising his hand.

"And you?" Aqua asked the silver haired boy.

"Riku," he answered, more calmly than his friend.

 _Someone has already passed this boy the power,_ Vanitas heard in Aqua's head.  _Was it Terra?_

 _Yep_ , Vanitas answered in her head.  _I can sense it._

Sora and RIku looked at each other again before Aqua spoke up again.

"Sora," she said to the brunette. "Do you like Riku?"

"Of course I like him," Sora declared. "He's my best friend!"

"Good," Aqua said. "So then, if something happens, and Riku is about to get lost... or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone..."

Both boys looked at her, mesmerized by her words.

"... you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe."

Sora and Riku looked at each other... again.

"Have his back," Vanitas interpreted. "When he needs it."

"That's your job, Sora," Aqua continued. "And I'm counting on you to do it. Okay?"

They both looked at her again as she ruffled their hair with her hands. This caused the boys to laugh. She smiled at both boys individually before she and Vanitas stood up and let Sora and Riku walk back across the beach, towards a little dock.

"Those kids reminded me SO much of Terra and Ven," Vanitas commented.

"I know," Aqua chuckled. "I considered passing the Keyblade down to them, but Terra already did it to the boy, Riku."

She looked down, before looking towards Vanitas.

"One Keyblade is enough," she said, sadly. "For any friendship. We learned that the hard way. I wouldn't wish our lives on those children."

Aqua looked down at her Wayfinder that she was somehow still holding.

 _Terra, please tell me,_ Vanitas heard her head again.  _What's to become of us?_

 _Hopefully something more than friendship,_ Vanitas thought, making sure Aqua couldn't hear him.  _If you two idiots would just gain the courage._

Suddenly, a sharp pain started in Vanitas' head. He placed his hand on his head and applied pressure, but that method wasn't working. The pain grew, making him blind to the world around him, and ringing grew in his ears.

"Anyway," Vanitas could barely hear Aqua. "You mind telling me..."

She noticed the pain Vanitas was in, finally.

"Oh, god," Aqua said, worried. "V, what's wrong?"

Vanitas screamed out in pain as he started seeing a vision.

_Master Eraqus stood behind Master Xehanort in the Grand Room back in the Land of Departure. Master Eraqus' face was devoid of his scars, and the two men were in a heated conversation._

_"Wait, Xehanort," Master Eraqus said, walking towards the man in question. "There is a reason the precepts bar us from such knowledge. Why do you seek the x-blade? Would you blanket all the worlds in darkness, reduce them to nothing!?"_

_"But darkness did cover the world once, in legend," Master Xehanort recuperated. "We know so little about the Keyblade War, only that it was just the beginning. Amidst that crisis, a precious light was found."_

_He looked the left, continuing, "It is a curious tale, and one worth exploring."_

_"They say ruin brings about creation," the old man continued. "So what, then, would another Keyblade War bring?"_

_He gestured with his hands, then put them back behind his back._

_"When the darkness falls," Xehanort continued. "Will we be worthy of the precious light the legend speaks of? I must have these answers. The x-blade needs to be forged, and with it, the door to the Keyblade War unlocked!"_

_"Fool," Master Eraqus told him. "You would risk an apocalypse out of sheer curiosity? I will never allow it, Xehanort. Not while I live!"_

_"But once again," Xehanort said, turning to face Master Eraqus. "You have it all wrong, Eraqus. Darkness is a beginning, you see, not an end. At birth, every one of us emerges from darkness into a world of light, do we not?"_

_"Poetic excuses!" Master Eraqus declared._

_Xehanort closed his eyes and turned around, beginning to walk away._

_"If words won't dissuade you," Master Eraqus summoned his Keyblade, continuing as he got in a battle stance. "Only one thing will."_

_Eraqus rushed forward to attack Xehanort, but Xehanort saw it coming. With darkness around him, Xehanort summoned his own Keyblade, and shot two orbs of darkness out, both of them hitting Eraqus in the face, in the places where his scars are today. The man fell to his knees in pain, as Xehanort walked forward to face him, still covered in darkness._

_"That power," Eraqus said, stabbing his Keyblade into the ground. Darkness was smoking from the spots where the orbs hit him. "Has the darkness taken you, Xehanort?"_

_"Not your concern," Xehanort said as he turned around and walked away, ending Vanitas' vision._

Vanitas gasped as the pain faded. He was on his knees, possibly from how bad the pain was. He looked up at Aqua, worry on her face.

"Are you okay?" Aqua asked him.

Vanitas stood up and walked forward a little bit, the information from his vision blending in with everything he already knew.

"It all makes sense now," Vanitas whispered, which Aqua heard.

"What makes sense?" Aqua asked.

Vanitas looked her in the face.

"The Keyblade War," he started. "Started over the wielders of the past fighting over the light within Kingdom Hearts, and the fight caused them to lose themselves, and the world was cast into darkness. The world was reborn into the worlds we know today. That much we know."

Aqua nodded.

"What we forgot about is that Kingdom Hearts had a counterpart, the x-blade," Vanitas continued at Aqua's confused expression. "The ultimate Key that all Keyblades originate from. When the world fell, the Keyblade was shattered into twenty-one pieces, eight of light, thirteen of darkness. Master Xehanort, he wants to use the x-blade to open Kingdom Hearts, open the door to another Keyblade War, use it to shatter the worlds, end the 'tyranny of light', and begin a new world, perfectly balanced in his image."

Aqua looked at him in surprise, amazed to discover that the old man they knew was willing to commit mass genocide of epic proportions.

"There's more," Vanitas said. "I get it now. His first attempt to forge the x-blade was with Ven."

Vanitas suddenly remembered a dream that he had months ago, that he had forgotten. Xehanort had Ventus try to fight a bunch of creatures of darkness by himself, even though Ventus had insisted that he wasn't strong enough. The creatures of darkness knocked him out, so Xehanort extracted the darkness in Ventus' heart. The darkness came out of him, and formed a large, dark orb. From that orb came a young boy in a red and black bodysuit, and a mask with black glass and silver metal.

"Ven didn't want the power," Vanitas continued. "So Xehanort extracted the darkness from within him. That darkness became the fake me. But since Ven had been damaged by the whole ordeal, Xehanort knew he needed somewhere to heal and train before he could be ready for his plans."

"And that's why he left Ven with us," Aqua realized.

"But the Master had his suspicions," Vanitas realized. "He admitted to me when I became a Master that there was a reason why Ven was never allowed to leave the Land of Departure, but he never told me what it was. I get it now: he didn't want Ven to become powerful enough to to fall into Xehanort's plans. Because if he and Fake Me fight, then the x-blade will be forged through their hearts."

"Oh, my god," Aqua said, taking in all this information.

Vanitas paused as he took it all in himself. Given that he had just put it all together, he was still surprised himself.

"Wait," Aqua said. "All of the Unversed come from Fake You. If he's the root of all of the Unversed..."

"And he's Xehanort's pupil..." Vanitas said, realizing it himself.

"Then this whole thing was part of Xehanort's plan," Aqua said. "He lured us away from home..."

"And Fake Me put doubt in Ven's head about Terra," Vanitas said. "So Ven would want to make sure Terra was okay."

"So he ran away from home," Aqua continued. "Growing stronger as he fought Unversed..."

"Playing right into Xehanort's plan!" both Aqua and Vanitas exclaimed.

"We have to stop Xehanort!" Vanitas exclaimed. Aqua nodded.

"The Master might have been wrong," Aqua said. "But he had good intentions. We're gonna need his help to stop Master Xehanort and Fake You."

Vanitas nodded, but then felt another pain in his head. The vision he saw this time was at a smaller scale, so it didn't hurt as much. Ventus and Mickey were in a tornado, spinning around as they flew up into a dark portal. They span faster as they reached the portal, then disappeared within. Vanitas gasped as he looked at Aqua.

"What'd you see this time?" Aqua asked, concerned and on edge.

"Ven and Mickey," Vanitas answered. "They were thrown into the Lanes Between through a dark portal, both of them knocked unconscious."

"Well, we have to help them," Aqua said. Then she realized the dilemma. "But Xehanort..."

"We'll split up," Vanitas said. "You go get those two, I'll go get the Master."

Aqua nodded, then summoned her armor and Glider.

"Good luck," she called out as Vanitas summoned his armor.

"You, too," Vanitas called out as they both flew through their respective portals.

The two Keyblade Masters flew through their own waves through the Lanes Between, neither of them aware of the troubles awaiting them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It ends up surprising me, how long I actually make these chapters.


	24. Darkness prevails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding out what happened to a place he considers home, Vanitas travels to the fated land

Vanitas flew through the Lanes Between with determination. After years of suspecting, he finally knew the full extent of Xehanort's plans. A mixture of feelings ran through him. On one hand, he was excited to finally be able to take out the old man once and for all. On the other hand, if he failed, his friends, all worlds, and everything he cared about would be lost forever.

He decided to focus on the first hand.

As Vanitas reached the Land of Departure, he noticed something odd and different. The once peaceful world filled with light was now surrounded by darkness.

"What the heck?" he asked himself.

Vanitas flew through the portal, landing on the training grounds overlooking the castle and dissipated his armor. He straightened up, and his eyes widened at the scene in front of him.

Darkness swirled over the castle, originating directly above the field at the bottom of it's stairway. Whereas the castle had two add ons on either side, now there was one on it's right side, and both were gone on it's left side. Strong winds were obviously swirling around the castle and field. From his location, Vanitas could see that some of the field had been ripped off from the rest of the ground. Vanitas walked up to the cliff face, his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

"I'm too late," Vanitas muttered, upset.

The worst part was that he could sense that a strong light had obliterated from the world.

Master Eraqus had been struck down.

Vanitas looked down with his eyes closed, and tried to hold back tears. Eraqus might have been in the wrong, but he had still taught them everything over the last few years. The man was like the father Vanitas never had. Now he was gone, and all Vanitas could think about was how the last thing he told the man was a lie.

Vanitas' grief quickly became rage. He grabbed at the little stone bench that was nearby, ripped it out of the ground with his super strength, and yelled as he threw it off the mountain, onto the rocks below. He panted before he sensed a new presence nearby.

Vanitas turned around as a man in a black coat phased into existence, facing away from Vanitas.

"Beautiful world, isn't it?" the man asked as he looked over his shoulder at Vanitas.

The man continued to turn until he was facing the ravenette.

"Who are you?" Vanitas asked, biting his rage. Something that surprised him was that the darkness within this person seemed familiar. What surprised him most was how powerful the darkness was. He had only felt that powerful of darkness within one other person, but there was no way that this person was.

The man in the coat then held out his hand, which confused Vanitas, until lightning sparked and he held blue energy blades in each hand, backwards. Vanitas summoned his Keyblade just as the man stood in a battle stance. Vanitas was suddenly happy this man had come along. He needed something to bash in to release his rage.

The man teleported to the side and charged at Vanitas. Vanitas moved out of the way just as the man started attacking him in a combo with his energy blades. Vanitas heard the man grunt with each swing of the blade. The man continued the attack with very powerful finishing moves, and Vanitas let the last one hit him, so he could leave behind an image. Teleporting behind the man, Vanitas grunted as he used a downwards slash against the man's back. The man immediately teleported away.

Vanitas turned to where the man was now standing. The man then did a backflip which left him floating in the air. He put his weapons together to make an X, and red energy shaped like an X then flew towards Vanitas. Vanitas blocked it, but the man was then charging at him, teleporting more to the left every few steps. Vanitas got down and rolled out of the way just as the man in the coat floated into the air, and sent a beam down onto him. The beam came up, and brought Vanitas up, making him grunt in pain.

Vanitas fell to the ground on his back, and quickly rolled out of the way as the man stabbed both of his blades into the ground. Vanitas got up and launched lightning at the man from his Keyblade. The lightning hit him in the chest, but he just teleported away and charged at Vanitas again. The man started another combo, and Vanitas was lucky to block every attack in it. At the last move, he countered by slashing his Keyblade and launching fire at the man. The fire hit him, giving Vanitas enough energy to do a Finish attack.

Before Vanitas could use it, though, he had to get out of the way of another combo attack. He waited until the man had done the last few moves of the combo before he used the finish. He pulled back, gathering in energy, and did a front flip forwards, launching out the energy in a shockwave on the ground that hit the hooded man. Vanitas could tell this attack did a bit more damage than the other ones, but he also knew the battle was long from over.

Vanitas started his own combo on the man, but was interrupted mid swing.

"Time, stop," the man said, and both he and Vanitas froze where they stood.

The man then teleported behind Vanitas, who was still frozen mid swing, and attacked him with a forwards attack hit his energy blades, knocking Vanitas back with a grunt. Vanitas stood back up just in time for a mini tornado to hit him, knocking him back again. The man in the coat laughed at Vanitas' misfortune.

Vanitas straightened up, and jumped up into the air, and launched black lightning down on the cloaked man from his hand. The lightning fazed him, but he was back to the charging once Vanitas had landed on his feet. Vanitas continued blocking as the man kept at it with his attacks. He waited just enough time for an opening, and didn't hesitate to take it. He attacked the man with a combo, and managed to get in every attack, causing a good amount of damage to the man.

Once Vanitas ended the combo, the man jumped back and launched another X shaped surge of energy at Vanitas. Vanitas blocked it, and did his counter attack just as the cloaked man ran towards him. The fire hit the man in the chest, so Vanitas rushed forwards, doing a downwards slash, then an upwards side slash at the man. The man teleported away as Vanitas finished his move, which is exactly why Vanitas also launched out energy from the slash. The energy his the man, interrupting his current run towards Vanitas.

But the man wasn't giving up. He floated into the air again, and launched another blue beam at Vanitas. This time, Vanitas was able to get out of the way before the beam could pull him up. Unfortunately, immediately afterwards, the man jumped back again and launched another X shaped surge of energy at Vanitas. This one hit Vanitas. Turns out, predictably, the energy was  _hot_.

Vanitas had barely enough time to use a Cure spell on himself before he had to backflip out of the way of the coated man's latest combo. This time, Vanitas started launching balls of fire from his Keyblade at the man, getting him with plenty of shots before he gained some more energy. The energy gathered until he was surrounded by fire, and he launched twice as many at once at the man, causing major damage.

Unfortunately, the man then disappeared, and reappeared as multiple, see through copies of himself. These copies charged at Vanitas, and since he didn't know which one to attack, he just rolled out of the way as they dissipated, and the real cloaked man started doing a combo towards Vanitas. Vanitas managed to get in his own combo, but had to run once again, when the man floated up and launched down another beam at him. Vanitas dodged it, and the man disappeared.

"This couldn't get any worse," Vanitas muttered.

Suddenly, he was being attacke by the man with a combo from behind. Once the attacks were over, Vanitas turned around to look at the man. Weakly and in pain, he could see the man's energy blades in the air, as if he was in his battle stance, but the man was completely invisible.

"Why'd I say that?" Vanitas muttered, healing himself once again with Cure.

Energy then surged from the man's hand, holding Vanitas in place, and his arms at his sides.

"You shall wonder forever," the man said as he started walking towards Vanitas.

Very quickly, Vanitas managed to break through his confinement. Acting with even more speed, Vanitas grabbed at the energy that hadn't dissipated from the man's hands yet. Vanitas used the energy to pick up the cloaked man, lifted him up in the air, then slammed him back into the ground, hard. The energy dissipated as Vanitas rushed forward, his Keyblade drawn again. Just as the man in the coat was back on his feet, Vanitas slashed through him with his Keyblade.

Vanitas turned back around to face the man to see that he had disappeared. He dismissed his Keyblade and started walking back towards where the bench used to be. He was stopped as the man appeared in front of him once again. Vanitas summoned his Keyblade again and once again stood in his battle stance.

"What do you want?" Vanitas asked.

"You want vengeance," the man said, cryptically. "On the ones that did this to your home. But if you look for it, you'll only find sorrow."

He turned around and started walking away.

"What are you talking about?" Vanitas asked, getting out of his battle stance.

"If you're sure you want to witness it," the cloaked man said as he started to disappear. "Go to the place where it all began: the Keyblade Graveyard. But I must warn you, darkness has already prevailed, and pretty soon, light will fall."

The man vanished completely, but Vanitas could still hear his voice.

"Everyone you care about will be lost, and you will be not be able to get them back."

Vanitas looked up, angrily.

"That's what you think," he said. "I'm gonna do everything to stop that imitation and old man."

Vanitas opened a portal to the Lanes Between, and flew in wearing his armor.

* * *

Landing on the Keyblade Graveyard, Vanitas wasn't surprised at all by the barren wasteland he had discovered. He already knew that this was the world that the Keyblade War had taken place at who knows how many decades ago. He walked through the empty rock face onto a ledge, and surveyed some of the damage to the world. Many craters in the landscape, and withering away mountains could be seen in the distance. The entire world looked like a minefield, which was a very accurate description, given the power of most Keyblade wielders.

Vanitas stood at the cliff face and held out his hand. He summoned his Keyblade, and looked at it, thinking of his friends.

"Whatever happens today," Vanitas declared. "I have to protect what matters."

Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade and turned right. He started walking down the path that he knew would lead him to his friends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to work even harder on getting chapters out since we're getting so close to the end.


	25. Destiny is Never Left to Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unpleasant reunions

In the vast wasteland of the Keyblade Graveyard, over the large, empty expanse, thousands of powered down, rusted Keyblades were planted in the ground. The lifeless keys were separated in a way to create four roads all leading to an intersection in the middle of the whole thing. Within the intersection stood Terra, looking down, seemingly waiting for something. His waiting was justified when he looked to his left to see Aqua walking towards him with a blank look on her face. He turned to his left to see Vanitas also walking towards him, an also blank look on his face, but he did try to look slightly more sympathetic towards his friend.

Aqua and Vanitas reached Terra and stopped, standing a few feet on either side of him at the intersection. Aqua looked down, then back up at Terra.

"I was told," she said, uncertainly. "The Master was struck down."

Terra gasped in surprise at her.

"Literally all you gotta do is go back home to see it," Vanitas said to Terra's surprise.

Terra just looked down in shame.

"Yes," he agreed with them. "That's right."

Terra paused before he added, "I was stupid and helped Xehanort do it."

Aqua gasped in surprise at him, while Vanitas widened his eyes.

"What?" Vanitas whispered. Since he had forgotten to watch over Terra too much, had he fallen to darkness after all?

"The Master," Terra explained, still looking shameful. "He tried to hurt Ven."

He shook his head. "I only fought because I wanted to protect him."

Vanitas looked on in surprise. Obviously, something had happened that caused Master Eraqus to decide that the only way to stop Xehanort would be to do something drastic. He just never figured that the Master would actually go through with it.

"But I was tricked," Terra continued. "Xehanort set the whole thing up..."

He closed his hand into a fist, then opened it again.

"All so he could awaken the darkness inside me."

Terra looked up at Vanitas and Aqua.

"You both were right," he told them. "And so was the Master. I did need to be watched. I went astray, but no more."

Vanitas could sense that in Terra's mind was determination to take down Master Xehanort, even stronger than his own. While understandable after what the old man made Terra do, it was a lot more intense than the determination Vanitas had. He would have to find a way to try to calm Terra down a little bit.

Aqua looked down, in shame and sadness. Vanitas could sense that she felt guilty about this whole thing, thinking it was all her fault for not watching over Terra too closely. Vanitas quickly realized that it wasn't either of their faults. No matter how closely they watched over Terra, he still fell for the seduction of the old man. The only one at fault here was Xehanort.

"What else is darkness but hate and rage?" Aqua asked. "Xehanort is feeding the dark fires within you, making you fight. You'll go astray again."

She looked up at Terra. "Tell me, how does that honor our Master's memory, Terra?"

Instead of answering, Terra looked forwards. Sensing a familiar light nearby, Vanitas followed his gaze to see Ventus walking towards them, the same blank look on his face that the others had. Aqua and Vanitas walked towards Terra so that they were standing on either side of him as Ventus reached the little group. Ventus looked down.

"Xehanort wants me and Dark Vanitas to fight," he told them. "And make some kind of 'x-blade.' But the Master said we can't let that happen... and he tried to destroy me for it."

"x-blade?" Aqua asked, remembering Vanitas' words.

It made sense to Vanitas now. Xehanort must have told Ventus what Vanitas had figured out about him and the x-blade, so Ventus confronted the Master about it. In response, the Master must have tried to destroy Ventus, there and then, but Xehanort had probably sent Terra there with another lie. Terra then must have sent Ventus to a safe place, and fought the Master to protect Ventus. And once the Master had been worn down by the fight with Terra, Xehanort must have struck him down. If Xehanort was willing to strike down his own friend, just to get the x-blade, then he was too far gone. He needed to be stopped.

"I still don't know exactly what it is," Ventus said, shaking his head. He then put his hand over his heart. "But, it scares me to death. Even just the thought of it."

Terra walked forward and put his hand on Ventus' shoulder. Vanitas followed the man's example and walked forward, so he was next to his best friend.

"Relax, Ven," Terra told Ventus. "We're here, and we're gonna take care of you."

Aqua walked forwards, and she and Vanitas nodded in agreement.

"Always have," Vanitas added. "Always will."

"I may have to fight Dark Vanitas after all," Ventus said, looking down. "If I do, guys... I want you to..."

"The four of us can never be torn apart," Terra interrupted him. "All right?"

"I'll always find a way," Terra told Ventus, reassuringly, and he squeezed Ventus' shoulder.

Aqua then crouched down and put her hand on Ventus' cheek.

"I'm asking you," Ventus said as he removed Aqua and Terra's hands. "As a friend..."

He looked directly at them. "Just... put an end to me."

Aqua, Terra, and Vanitas all gasped in surprise at Ventus' words. Aqua straightened up and put her hands over her heart, as three of them looked at him, worriedly. The wind suddenly picked up, coming strongly from the road Aqua had walked down. The four of them gasped in surprise, then started down the road, angry expressions on all of their faces.

Far down the road, Xehanort was walking towards them with a very smug smile on his face. Dark Vanitas then appeared next to the old man with his Keyblade in hand, and also walked towards the group. The two of them stopped, still a far away from the four, who continued to stare at them with anger on their faces.

"Behold," Xehanort said as he gestured with his arm to the unpowered Keyblades. "These lifeless keys used to be full of power; united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat, as a great Keyblade War raged."

He spread his arms to indicate the severity of the situation.

"Countless Keyblade wielders gave up their lives," the old man continued. "All in search of one, ultimate key. And it will soon belong to me."

The old man smirked as he pumped his fist (that's what it looked like) and pointed towards Ventus.

"x-blade," he announced.

Aqua, Terra, Vanitas, and Ventus all exclaimed in anger, and simultaneously summoned their armor. Once the light faded, they stood in their armor, all of them now having capes sprouting from their shoulders. Ventus tried to start running forward, but Terra pulled back and ran forwards instead. Aqua, Vanitas, and Ventus watched as Terra lunged at Xehanort and Dark Vanitas. However, Xehanort brought up his hand, and the ground came up where Terra was in the air. The ground hit him and made him fall on his front. He managed to pull himself together on his knees, and looked up just in time for the ground right in front of the new expanse rose up even higher than the expanse Terra was on.

Dark Vanitas jumped off of the expanse in front of Terra and launched down lightning from his Keyblade as he fell. The lightning hit Terra and cracked his armor as Dark Vanitas landed in front of him, within the smoke. The ground behind the expanse then also rose up, and Aqua, Ventus, and Vanitas jumped off of it, and rushed past Terra, going after Dark Vanitas. Terra then looked up the tallest expanse at Xehanort, then ran forwards with them, after Xehanort.

Xehanort himself chuckled as he threw out his hand, extending his power. It suddenly became night as a strong wind came out of the ground, starting a surge that picked up the lifeless Keyblades in an attack.

Ventus and Vanitas both attacked Dark Vanitas with their Keyblades, but he blocked both of their attacks. Aqua launched ice at the masked boy, but it missed him as he jumped back. Aqua landed on her feet, and looked up, just now noticing the surge with the Keyblades.

"Ven! V!" she called out as she ran from the surge.

Dark Vanitas then reached his Keyblade up, catching onto the Keyblades on the surge. He spun himself around so that he rode on one of the Keyblades on the surge, and launched ice at Ventus, Aqua, and Vanitas as they continued to run from the surge. Dark Vanitas then jumped off of the surge, and let it knock Ventus off of his feet. He yelled out as he fell down, rolling on the ground. He quickly lunged again at Dark Vanitas, and attacked him with his Keyblade. Dark Vanitas intercepted the attacks with his own Keyblade.

Vanitas himself rushed in to attack Dark Vanitas and fought him Keyblade to Keyblade. Neither one wanted to give in as they intercepted each others' attacks with their Keyblades. The surge came back around and hit Vanitas in the back. Dark Vanitas then surprise attacked Vanitas at his head with his Keyblade, destroying his armor helmet. Vanitas backflipped away, trying to recuperate from the attack.

Aqua launched thunder at Dark Vanitas, who jumped over it and back onto the surge. The surge then took him up into the air, and he flew it up to attack at Terra, who was running along the top of one of the higher expanses of land. Since Terra was running along the edge of the expanse, for some reason, the surge took out the ground beneath his feet. He yelled out as he fell.

Aqua stopped and looked up as Terra fell down the very rocky side of the taller expanse of land. Terra tried driving his Keyblade into the side to slow his fall, but all it did was just take off some of the side with him. He hung by his Keyblade that was still stabbed into the chunk of side as he fell. Aqua was then surprised as another wind erupted from the ground where she was standing and picked her up. Keyblades flew into the surge as it carried Aqua, cracking her armor. The surge threw her aside and flew towards Terra, who reached his arm out towards her in the air. The surge then picked him up, and flew off with him in it, damaging him as well.

Meanwhile, Aqua landed face down in the rocky ground, hard enough to form a crater. Her Keyblade landed near her head as Ventus and Vanitas ran towards her.

"Aqua!" Ventus said as Aqua got on her hands and knees.

With her armor helmet nearly completely destroyed, Aqua grabbed her Keyblade with her left hand, got on her knees, and pointed it upwards as purple energy gathered at the handle.

"Terra!" Aqua yelled out as the energy flew out of her Keyblade.

The energy flew into the surge, up towards Terra. The light erupted in front of his face, and a barrier surrounded him, throwing aside the Keyblades. The surge then flew into the barrier, knocking it upwards so that it was now above Xehanort. The surge froze with the barrier before the barrier was surrounded with purple energy. The barrier then exploded, Keyblades and Terra thrown aside from the blast.

Aqua and Vanitas stared up, breathless, at where the explosion had happened. Ventus exclaimed before he ran towards the expanse that they all knew Xehanort was standing on top of.

Terra, meanwhile, yelled out as he hit the ground, roughly, on the expanse that Xehanort was on top of. The Keyblades all fell to or stabbed into the ground as Terra pulled himself up. His armor near breaking point on him, Terra ran towards Xehanort, swinging his Keyblade at the old man. Xehanort intercepted the attack, and they attacked each other with their Keyblades. Xehanort then launched ice from his free hand, then sent Terra back. He rolled on the ground, before getting up on his knees. He stared at his left hand that had gotten hit by the ice, and watched as the ice travelled up his arm, holding it in place. The ice reached Terra's neck as he looked at Xehanort.

Xehanort, in turn, held out his Keyblade with his left hand, rather than his right. Ventus then leaped up above and behind Xehanort, and tried to attack Xehanort with his Keyblade, also with his left hand, for some reason. Xehanort teleported out of the way, though, so Ventus just swiped at the air. Xehanort then appeared behind Ventus and grabbed him by the head of his armor. Ventus exclaimed at the situation as Terra looked up.

"Ven!" he called out as Xehanort tightened his grip, cracking Ventus' helmet.

Terra tried rushing forward, but the surge came up where he was standing, making him yell as it picked him up. Dark Vanitas landed next to Xehanort as the surge forced Terra over the edge of the expanse. Terra yelled as the surge attacked him with the Keyblades, forcing him to fall to the ground, hard.

Vanitas and Aqua pulled themselves together enough to look up to see Xehanort continue to hold Ventus by the back of his head. The two of them gasped in surprise.

"Ven!" Aqua called out as the blonde's helmet cracked and fell apart, revealing his right eye.

"Buddy!" Vanitas called out, genuinely afraid for his friend.

Energy then erupted around Ventus from Xehanort's hand. Smoke came off of him, and with a gasp, Ventus was frozen in ice. Xehanort then held Ventus over the edge of the expanse, and dropped him down the side. As Ventus fell down the side, the jagged rocks sticking out smashed his Keyblade in half, and shattered most of his helmet. Right before he could hit the ground, Aqua slid along the ground, catching him. Vanitas slid along his feet, stopping at the same time as Aqua. Sitting up, Aqua adjusted the frozen form of Ventus so that he was in her lap. His eyes were moving, and he was exclaiming in pain, signifying that he was still alive.

"Ven," Aqua said to him. "Are you okay?"

"Talk to us, buddy," Vanitas said as he crouched down next to Aqua.

Meanwhile, Xehanort had transformed his Keyblade into a dark ball of energy. He held up his hand, and exclaimed in victory as the orb flew into the clouds in the sky. The clouds then opened up to reveal a heart shaped moon that emitted a bright light.

"Kingdom Hearts," Vanitas whispered as he and Aqua looked up in amazement.

Vanitas suddenly remembered something he had learned a long time ago.

"Destiny is never left to chance..." he whispered.

Suddenly, a familiar mixture of light and darkness nearby then rose up into the air, going up the side of the expanse. Terra was going to confront Xehanort and Dark Vanitas.

"Aqua," Vanitas said, causing her to look at him. "Are you okay enough to take care of Ven?"

"Yeah," Aqua said, still holding Ventus in her arms. "I think so. Why?"

"I'm gonna go help Terra," Vanitas said, standing up. "He's gonna try to take on Xehanort and Dark Vanitas on his own. If he does, he's just playing into their hands."

Aqua nodded.

"I understand," she said, determined. "Go!"

Vanitas, thankful that his boots and gauntlets were still intact, flew up into the air, ready to help his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the end, guys


	26. Unpleasant Battles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas and his friends fight the darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first time Vanitas ever cusses is in this chapter. Although it is only a prelude to what is to expect from him later on

Vanitas flew up the side of the tallest expanse, the shattered remains on his armor helmet dangling from his head. As he flew, he could sense light originating from a new person nearby. Mickey. Vanitas was grateful for the idea of extra help, as he didn't know how things were gonna go down here.

He flew up into the air, above Xehanort and Dark Vanitas on their expanse. Terra had landed in front of the two of them and dissipated his own armor. Vanitas himself disengaged the thrusters on his boots and gauntlets, and landed next to Terra, summoning his Keyblade, but keeping the remains of his armor on.

"Admirably done," Xehanort told Terra. "I knew this was a journey you could make, over the unseen wall that divides darkness and light."

With the smuggest smile of his face, Xehanort spread his arms out as he exclaimed, "And I was not wrong, Terra!"

Terra breathed loudly as Vanitas suddenly felt something odd. Weird spikes of darkness and light had originated nearby Ventus and Aqua. These ones were odd with how poweful they were. That guy, Braig! Vanitas honestly couldn't think of a better reason for him to be here than to just annoy his friends.

"And you," Xehanort said to Vanitas, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Had you just joined me when I gave you the opportunity, you could have saved me a lot of trouble. And  _annoyance_!"

"Sorry to tell you," Vanitas said. "But I excel at annoying people."

"My friend, Ven..." Terra said as he held out his hand.

Light had originated in Terra's hand, and slowly extended out. The smile reappeared on Xehanort's face as he looked at Terra. His smile somehow looked even creepier to Vanitas.

"You tell me, Xehanort," Terra continued. "What did you do to him?"

He finished summoning his Keyblade and held in out with his right hand.

"Why," Xehanort started. "I did him a favor and freed the darkness inside him. Alas, poor Ventus never had the fortitude for such strenuous trials."

This just angered Vanitas and Terra.

"Xehanort!" Terra yelled as he slashed his Keyblade forwards before getting into his battle stance.

Vanitas and Terra stood together in their battle stances, ready to fight Dark Vanitas and Xehanort.

Terra started it out by using a haze attack to rush forwards, stabbing into Dark Vanitas. It hit Dark Vanitas, but Xehanort teleported away. Once Xehanort had reappeared, Vanitas lunged towards the old man, and attacked him with a slash, his Keyblade encased in fire. Xehanort teleported away, so Venitas turned towards Terra. Terra was trying to use a combo on Dark Vanitas, and, like the others, managed to keep the combo going despite Dark Vanitas cartwheeling away some of the attacks.

Xehanort then teleported next to Terra, but Terra managed to attack the old man before he could attack Terra. Vanitas then rushed in to attack Dark Vanitas while Terra gained enough energy to do a Command Style. Vanitas attacked Dark Vanitas with ice as Terra started teleporting around the area, encased in darkness, and rushing into attack with each teleport. Between Terra's attacks, Vanitas launched out multiple orbs of fire at both Xehanort and Dark Vanitas, getting both beings of darkness with multiple attacks each.

While Terra gained enough energy for a new, darkness fueled Command Style, Vanitas ran to attack Dark Vanitas again. He rushed in, doing a downwards slash, followed by an upwards side slash. Dark Vanitas left behind an image, and tried coming down behind Vanitas with a downwards slash. Vanitas quickly got out of the way, teleporting behind Dark Vanitas himself, and attacked him with a strong swipe with his fire encased Keyblade.

Xehanort then teleported next to Vanitas and bombarded him with a flurry of slashes, then had dark ice originate from his hand and knock back Vanitas. Terra then tried attacking both Dark Vanitas and Terra with combos based off of his darkness themed Command Style. The last attack involving the hand coming from darkness admittedly freaked Vanitas out.

Terra then stood still as energy made patterns on the ground, and light originated in front of him. Recognizing the attack, Vanitas rushed in and stood in one of the little panels along the pattern. The two held their hands to their hearts as light started to rise in the center. In his head, Vanitas heard words that Master Eraqus had told him so long ago.

_Fight for your friends, Vanitas, and you will win._

Vanitas brought up his Keyblade, adding it to the energy as the light rose up for an attack. Unfortunately, Terra was paying too much attention to whatever he had heard in his head, and brought up his Keyblade too late.

The light was powerful, but not nearly powerful enough to cause a lot of damage to Xehanort or Dark Vanitas. Terra made up for the mistake by getting in more combos on both Xehanort and Dark Vanitas. He then used the energy built up to use the Finish attack of his Command Style. He went into the ground, darkness appearing in a pool where he was standing. The pool went underneath Dark Vanitas, and Terra jumped out from underneath, and attacked him with the darkness hand. Terra then turned towards Xehanort.

Vanitas ran towards Dark Vanitas, and both of them attacked each other, intercepting their attacks with their Keyblades.

"Go take what Ventus owes you," Vanitas heard Xehanort saying somewhere. "And take Aqua's life."

Dark Vanitas nodded, and hit Vanitas in the head with his Keyblade. The attack knocked Vanitas on his back. He held his hand to his head, blood originating from his scalp.

Through the spots in his eyes, Vanitas was able to see Dark Vanitas running towards the edge that Vanitas had come up. He jumped over it, and propelled himself so he was falling face first.

Terra ran towards where Dark Vanitas had jumped, but Xehanort had teleported in front of him. In response, Terra jumped back and faced the old man. Meanwhile, Vanitas pulled a Potion out from his pocket and downed it one go.

"You see how powerless you are to save them?" Xehanort asked Terra with a smile on his face. "Savor that rage and despair. Let it empower you!"

During this, Vanitas remained sitting as the Potion healed the wound on his head. Once he had gotten his energy back, he teleported behind Xehanort, and looked over the man's shoulder to Terra.

"I'm on it!" he announced.

Vanitas jumped off the edge and propelled himself so that he was now falling face first. Above him, Vanitas could sense the darkness spikes originating from Terra growing more powerful. Since it was too late for him to do anything about it, Vanitas just focused on what was happening below him (or above him from his perspective). Vanitas looked up to see that Dark Vanitas was standing over Dark Vanitas, holding his Keyblade over her chest.

"No!" Vanitas heard a familiar voice yell.

He looked past Dark Vanitas to see that Ventus had unfrozen himself, and was now standing in his battle stance, his Keyblade drawn and his armor helmet gone. Vanitas then re-summoned his Keyblade, and spun forwards, so that he was doing a similar downwards slash attack that Dark Vanitas must have done to Aqua. Dark Vanitas teleported away before Vanitas could hit him, and reappeared near Ventus. Vanitas jumped forward so that he was standing next to Ventus.

"What took you so long?" Ventus asked.

"I got hit in the head," Vanitas answered as they ran towards Dark Vanitas.

Dark Vanitas in turn ran towards the surge that had come back, and jumped so that he was riding on one of the Keyblades. Ventus and Vanitas both started gliding around the mini arena as Dark Vanitas flew around it, launching out shards of ice, all of them missing the two. Ventus and Vanitas both landed on the ground and continued to dodge ice shards from Dark Vanitas. Ventus then stood still as similar energy patterns appeared on the ground. Vanitas stood next to him in a circle of energy as light gathered in front of them. Ventus and Vanitas both heard Terra's voice in Ventus' head.

_When I really need you, Ven, I know you'll be there._

Both Ventus and Vanitas raised their Keyblades into the air as the light reached above them. The light covered the mini arena, and knocked Dark Vanitas off of the Keyblade he was rising on. Ventus then ran in and did a combo on Dark Vanitas, doing a good amount of damage. Dark Vanitas left behind and image and tried coming down behind Ventus, but Vanitas launched out a fireball that exploded as it hit him in the back. Ventus then rushed in and did a flurry of attacks on Dark Vanitas, hitting him more than a few times.

Dark Vanitas quickly recuperated and launched fire at them. The fire became multiple smaller balls of fire that flew towards the two of them. They got out of the way, and Vanitas barely got out of the way in enough time to not get hit by lightning that Dark Vanitas had launched at him. Once he had landed, Ventus alternated attacking Dark Vanitas and dodging his attacks. This continued to go on as Dark Vanitas attacked him with large chunks of ice, more fire, and leaping into the ground, and coming back out spewing multiple balls of fire... a few times.

Once Dark Vanitas spewed out his last few bits of fire, Vanitas ran in and attacked him with a combo, getting in every attack without him cartwheeling or teleporting away. He managed to distract Dark Vanitas enough for Ventus to focus enough to do his Shotlock attack.

Ventus launched out multiple orbs of light, all of them doing lots of damage to the masked boy. Once Ventus had started the final stage of the Shotlock, Dark Vanitas tried leaving behind an image. However, Ventus managed to catch Dark Vanitas in a tornado of energy, and finished him off by getting him with even more light energy.

Vanitas and Ventus stood together in their fighting stances as Dark Vanitas stood crouched over, darkness surrounding him.

"You've done it, Ventus," he said as he straightened up.

Both Ventus and Vanitas exclaimed in surprise as Dark Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade. The glass on Dark Vanitas' mask then started to burn up, showing that he had darn hair and golden yellow eyes.

"Now that my body is about to perish," he continued. "You and I will have to join together!"

The glass had burned up completely, revealing his face. Ventus and Vanitas gasped in surprised as they saw that, on top of everything else, Dark Vanitas looked exactly like Vanitas.

"You have got to be kidding me," Vanitas said, surprisingly nonchalant.

"The x-blade will be forged!" Dark Vanitas yelled as the darkness spread on the ground, making a circle around Ventus and Vanitas.

Floods then flew out of the darkness, three of them holding Ventus down, and one of them tackling Vanitas out of the circle. It held him down next to Aqua as his Keyblade scattered away. Vanitas was forced to watch as Ventus grunted at being held down.

"The Unversed," he yelled at Dark Vanitas. "Come from you?"

Dark Vanitas smirked as more Unversed appeared around him.

"It happened when you and I were split into two," he explained. "The negativity took shape as these monsters. They are what I feel: a horde of fledgling emotions under my control. I released them into all the worlds I could."

"Hoping to lure you away from home," he continued as he walked towards Ventus. "And isolate you from your Master. We needed to make you stronger."

Dark Vanitas stood in front of Ventus.

"The Unversed were the perfect opponents," he continued. "And better yet, no matter how many times you defeat them, their negativity flows right back into me."

As he spoke, the Unversed disappeared into darkness, and the darkness flew back into Dark Vanitas. Except for the ones still holding down Ventus and Vanitas.

"I knew it," Vanitas whispered.

"You never stood a chance against us, Ventus," Dark Vanitas laughed.

Dark Vanitas then walked towards Ventus, and light surrounded them, quickly growing more powerful and intense. Vanitas exclaimed as the force from the light pushed he and Aqua over the edge of the mini arena. Hitting his head on a rock, Vanitas' vision once again went bad and blurry. He was able to hear it as the energy grew so intense that it shook the ground, and cracked nearby rock. All of a sudden, he could hear Ventus screaming, and the sound of a blade being drawn.

Through the spots in his eyes, Vanitas could see a small figure appear near him and Aqua.

"Heal!" a high pitched voice called out.

Green energy appeared around Vanitas, and his vision cleared up again. He looked up to see Mickey dismissing his Keyblade and nodding at him.

"Thanks, buddy," Vanitas said as he patted the mouse on his shoulder.

Mickey then joined him in crouching down and looking at the unconscious form of Aqua with worry. All of a sudden, Aqua gasped awake.

"Gosh," Mickey said. "Are we glad you're okay."

Aqua looked up at Mickey and Vanitas.

"You had me worried," Vanitas told her.

Mickey and Vanitas both stood up as Aqua managed to get herself in a sitting position. All of a sudden, she remembered...

"Ven!" she called out with determination.

Aqua stood up, and she and Mickey looked around, trying to find Ventus. Vanitas, remembering where we was a little while ago, looked up the expanse onto the mini arena that they had fought Dark Vanitas on. From here, he could see Ventus standing up there, looking down. Aqua quickly noticed where he was looking, and saw Ventus on the expanse.

"Oh, thank goodness," she declared. "Ven!"

Aqua then ran up the expanse, onto into the mini arena. Vanitas and Mickey followed her, but they stopped when they saw what he was holding.

"You're safe!" Aqua exclaimed as she ran to face the blonde, somehow not noticing that he was holding the x-blade.

Aqua crouched down so that she was facing Ventus, who was ignoring her.

"Ven?" she asked.

Vanitas and Mickey were more on edge over the fact that Ventus was holding one of the most powerful weapons to ever exist.

_I've become a part of their heart,_ Vanitas heard Ventus' voice within his head.  _Just as they've become a part of mine. My friends are my power, and I'm theirs!_

That reassured Vanitas that no matter what was about to happen, his friend was still fighting on.

Ventus looked Aqua in the face with newly yellow eyes with a sinister chuckle. He pulled back the x-blade and tried to stab at Aqua, but Mickey and Vanitas intercepted the attack with their Keyblades. Aqua backed up, and Mickey and Vanitas followed, standing in front of her.

"That's not Ven!" Mickey announced.

"He made them join together," Vanitas added.

Darkness then surrounded Ventus' body, replacing his armor with Dark Vanitas' red and black bodysuit.

"Correct," Ventus-Vanitas spoke, the smile never leaving his face. "I am not Ventus." He put his hand over his heart. "His heart has become a part of mine now."

Aqua, Vanitas, and Mickey all gasped in surprise and anger as Ventus-Vanitas held up the x-blade.

"This x-blade will open a door," he told them. "One that leads to all worlds! Then, Keyblade bearing warriors will flock here from each and every one of them, to battle for the light within Kingdom Hearts!"

He then held the x-blade to his side. "And just like the legend says, the Keyblade War will begin!"

"Shut up!" Aqua and Vanitas declared.

"I'm sick of your nonsense!" Aqua declared as she ran forward and stood in her battle stance next to Mickey and Vanitas. "Give Ven his heart back!"

"Man, I wish it was that easy," Vanitas commented, running forwards.

Vanitas started by rushing in and attacking Ventus-Vanitas with the usual downwards slash followed by an upwards side slash. It hurt Ventus-Vanitas, but he quickly retaliated by jumping up and sending down lightning with the x-blade. Aqua and Mickey got out of the way in time, but Vanitas ended up getting electrocuted by the lightning.

Aqua rushed in and started attacking Ventus-Vanitas with a combo, managing to get in attacks, again, despite him cartwheeling out of the way. Mickey then jumped in and started attacking Ventus-Vanitas causing a good amount of damage. On Mickey's last attack, Ventus-Vanitas left behind an image and teleported behind Mickey. He attacked the mouse with a downwards slash that caused very large shards of ice to erupt from the ground, and knocking Mickey and Aqua forwards.

Vanitas, fully recuperated, ran forward and attacked at Ventus-Vanitas with his Keyblade. The two of them went at it, Vanitas with his Keyblade, and Ventus-Vanitas with the x-blade. They attacked at each other, neither one of them wanting to give in. Until, Ventus-Vanitas caught Vanitas' Keyblade in the teeth of the x-blade, and threw it aside. Vanitas managed to jump out of the way as Ventus-Vanitas swung the x-blade at him.

Aqua and Mickey then ran in and started trying to attack Ventus-Vanitas with their Keyblades, Aqua with a combo, Mickey with a flurry of swipes. As they attacked, Vanitas looked down at his gauntlets and boots, and got an idea.

"I know I saw what I'm about to do somewhere," Vanitas whispered to himself.

Vanitas started to run forward as energy came out of his boots. He got close to Ventus-Vanitas and pointed his hands at the blonde. Energy blasted out of his gauntlets and knocked back Ventus-Vanitas. Vanitas landed next to Aqua and Mickey, who looked at him, impressed.

"Where'd you learn ta do that?" Mickey asked him.

"I'm pretty sure a movie," Vanitas said as he summoned back his Keyblade.

Ventus-Vanitas then teleported to the center of the mini arena.

"Feel how powerless you are," the blonde called out in the mixed voices.

"Let's team up," Mickey then called out, energy surrounding him.

Aqua and Vanitas ran towards the mouse and joined him in the team attack just as Ventus-Vanitas did his own attack. The attack caused light to erupt, and caused energy to fly in different directions. Luckily, joining in the team attack caused the three of them to be protected from the attack. The three then spun around, floating above the air, sending out light from each of their Keyblades. With the finish attack, they launched beams of light out that caused lots of damage to Ventus-Vanitas.

Aqua, Mickey, and Vanitas all ran towards Ventus-Vanitas from three different directions in front of him as he held the x-blade up next to his head. He then used it to slash through the air. From that slash, wind flew out towards the three, knocking Aqua and Vanitas against a large rock, and Mickey down a little expanse. Exclaiming in pain, Aqua and Vanitas both looked up to see Ventus-Vanitas walk towards the edge of the mini arena.

"What's wrong?" he asked them, the smile having never left his face this whole time. "Giving up already?"

Breathing heavily, Aqua pulled out her Wayfinder and stared at it. Vanitas decided to follow her example and pulled out his.

"Terra," Aqua exclaimed. "Ven. Lend us strength."

"We kind of need it," Vanitas said, also breathless.

They both held their Wayfinders to their faces, and they suddenly glowed a bright light. The light then encompassed their Keyblades, and they both could tell that they had the strength of their friends behind them. Aqua and Vanitas looked at each other, nodded, then faced Ventus-Vanitas. They got up and yelled as they charged at Ventus-Vanitas.

"You're just wasting your energy," Ventus-Vanitas told them as he pulled back the x-blade.

Aqua and Vanitas then attacked at Ventus-Vanitas, making their Keyblades into an X, as Ventus-Vanitas attacked them with the x-blade. The impact of the attack caused a shockwave to erupt. Ventus-Vanitas continued to smile at them as they yelled out.

"GO," Vanitas bellowed. "TO... HELL!"

Aqua and Vanitas leaned forwards, extending out their Keyblades, and breaking the x-blade with their attack.

"What?" Ventus-Vanitas asked, confused. The smile finally left his face.

Aqua slashed sideways, knocking back Ventus-Vanitas, and causing the broken x-blade to float into the air. Light originated from the x-blade, and all of a sudden, beams erupted from it and started hitting the ground. The beams made traces on the ground, and where they went, little keyhole designs came up and disappeared from the white lines.

Aqua and Vanitas both dismissed their Keyblades, and tried shielding themselves from the energy with their arms. With his good ears, Vanitas was able to hear Mickey waking up behind them.

"Oh, no," Mickey said. "It-it's gone all haywire."

Mickey ran up to join them in blocking the energy as Darkness appeared around Ventus-Vanitas. Once the darkness faded, the bodysuit was replaced by the armor.

"Ven!" Aqua called out.

"We gotta save him!" Vanitas also called out.

The beams still continued to make traces into the ground, making it impossible to find an opening to get Ventus. Looking up, Vanitas watched as the x-blade turned grey, and broke into pieces. the pieces disintegrated, causing the beams to grow even more intense. Light grew from where the x-blade shattered, causing even stronger wind to erupt. The growing light pushed Ventus aside, so he was now flying with the wind.

Aqua didn't hesitate to run after him. Vanitas was about to follow her, when the beams erupted in front of him, keeping him in place. He was forced to stay next to Mickey as they held up their arms to protect themselves from the wind. They both started into the light and groaned as it got closed.

"Crap..." Vanitas whispered as the light engulfed them.

The last thing Vanitas remembered before he blacked out was screaming with Mickey and Aqua as the light continued to grow.

* * *

Vanitas gasped awake and stuttered as he swung his arms aside, trying to get his bearings.

"Careful, V!" he heard Mickey declare.

Vanitas took stock of his surroundings. He was floating in the Lanes Between, his armor helmet completely gone, but his gauntlets and boots still there. Mickey was wearing no armor whatsoever, floating next to him, holding the Star Shard in his left hand. Aqua and Ventus were floating next to them, holding hands.

"Grab Aqua's other hand," Mickey instructed him.

"Okay," Vanitas said uncertainly, but grabbing Aqua's hand in his anyway. "Why am I doing this?"

"The only way to get all of us there at once," Mickey said as he put his hand on top of Vanitas'.

Mickey held up the Star Shard, and the light encompassed all four of them. They were suddenly in an orb of light that flew through the air like it was bumping into something. Vanitas only hoped they were going to a safe place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered having this chapter and the last chapter combined into one, but the chapter was long enough as it was. I figured I would just split them into two


	27. Unpleasant Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After recuperating at Master Yen Sid's tower, Aqua and Vanitas take Ventus back home

Once they reached the Mysterious Tower, Mickey and Vanitas patched themselves, Aqua, and Ventus up with the help of Master Yen Sid, a talking dog named Goofy, and a talking duck named Donald. Aqua was okay, but Ventus' heart had been damaged in a way that put it to sleep.

Vanitas sat on the floor of Master Yen Sid's office, sipping from a cup of tea as he watched his friends sleep nearby.

"So Aqua will just wake up," Vanitas asked Master Yen Sid once again. "But Ven'll keep sleeping for who knows how long?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Yen Sid told him once more. "There is nothing that we can do right now to awaken Ventus from his slumber, but the least you can do is take him to a safe place once Aqua awakens."

"Don't worry," Donald told him, reassuringly. "We'll find a way to help him out."

"Yeah," Goofy agreed. "No matter how long it'll take, I'm sure we can do it."

"Exactly," Mickey nodded at his magician and captain then looked at Vanitas. "We always find a way."

Vanitas smiled at the support they gave him, but he wasn't really reassured. Master Yen Sid himself said that they can't anything, so what would a little time change?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw Aqua stirring awake nearby. He put the cup down on the table and got on his knees next to her.

"Hey," Vanitas said softly. "Easy. Don't overexert yourself just yet."

"Where are we?" Aqua asked as she started pulling herself up.

"Aqua," Yen Sid told her as he walked over to them. "You lost consciousness. Fortunately, Mickey found you, Ventus, and Vanitas drifting in the Lanes Between..." Aqua followed his gaze so that she saw Ventus sitting up against the wall. "...and brought you back to me to receive proper care."

Aqua gasped and looked up at Master Yen Sid, expectantly.

"I am sorry," he told her with his eyes closed. "But there was no sign of Terra."

"I see," Aqua said sadly.

"That light, though," Vanitas told her. "I sense it covered up pretty much that whole place. It had to have picked him up and taken him somewhere."

Aqua nodded her thanks at him trying to reassure her and turned to Ventus. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Ven!" Aqua said as she shook his shoulder, trying to wake him up. When it didn't work, she tried again, saying, "Ventus!"

Mickey, Vanitas, and Aqua all looked at Ventus with worry as Master Yen Sid explained it to her.

"The boy's heart is sleeping," he told her.

Aqua looked up at him.

"When will he wake?" she asked him, hopefully.

"That's the bad part," Vanitas told her.

Yen Sid looked down with his eyes closed.

"I could not say," he said. "It is almost as though his heart has left. Should it return, he may very well wake. Should it not, then he may sleep like this for all eternity."

Aqua's jaw dropped at the last bit Yen Sid had said. Vanitas, himself, just kept staring at his best friend, worried, half expecting him to wake up at any second.

"No..." Aqua said, looking down.

She then looked up with determination.

"I'll keep him safe," Aqua declared. "Until he wakes." She looked right at Ventus. "Forever if I have to."

"You keep forgetting," Vanitas told her. "You don't have to do everything."

"I will tell you what your friend needs right now," Yen Sid told her as he turned around. "It is not protection from either of you."

"He needs you both to believe," he continued, gesturing with his arms (what a surprise). "You see, Ventus's heart hangs in the balance." Aqua and Vanitas listened intently to the Master's words. "It sleeps in the place between light and darkness."

Yen Sid then started walking towards his chair.

"From all I can perceive," he continued. "That means he will be looking for a friend, one who believes in him, to show him the way home."

Yen Sid continued as he sat down in his chair.

"Just as long as you love him," he said as Aqua, Vanitas, and Mickey turned their heads to look at him. "Then Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs..."

He looked over his shoulder at them.

"The realm of light," Yen Sid told them with a smile on his face.

"Ah," Mickey said as they started to smile at Yen Sid's words.

Mickey then turned towards Vanitas and Aqua.

"Vanitas, Aqua," he told them. "Don't you worry. I believe in Ven, too. Gosh, he's been as good a friend to me as anybody."

He gestured with his hand to Ventus, and Aqua and Vanitas followed his gaze.

"And if all three of us believe in him with all our hearts," Mickey continued. "Then he'll have three lights to follow instead of one."

Vanitas, Aqua, and Mickey all nodded at each other, reassuringly.

"Four lights," Aqua corrected him. At Mickey's confused face, Aqua answered, "Terra."

This caused Mickey to look down, sad.

"But," he said. "Terra's gone. Maybe for good."

Vanitas had the same look of sadness on his face, but Aqua shook her head and pulled out her Wayfinder.

"I think," she said as she looked at it. "I know how to find him."

Aqua held her Wayfinder in both of her hands.

"Then let's go," Vanitas told her.

Vanitas picked up Ventus and slung him across his back, crouching down slightly so that his buddy's head rested on his shoulder.

"You need some help?" Aqua asked as she stood up.

"Nah," Vanitas told her. "I'm stronger than I look."

"Good luck!" Donald told him.

"Come back soon!" Goofy added.

Aqua and Mickey thanked the group for all of their help, and proceeded down the stairs of the tower.

"That duck and dog," Vanitas asked her as they walked out the front door. "How much you wanna bet we never see them again?"

Aqua could tell he was trying to light the tension, but it didn't work.

"Ven needs a safe place," she declared, looking off into the distance.

"You're right," Vanitas agreed. "But where are we gonna find one?"

After a second of thinking things through, both of their attentions were drawn to Ventus's hand raising up and summoning his Keyblade. He pointed it forwards, and a beam shot out, opening a doorway of light. His hand dismissed his Keyblade and went limp, as if that never happened.

Aqua chuckled at that, while Vanitas looked wary. He could sense where the doorway led...

"All right," Aqua told the sleeping boy. "If that's where you want to go."

Aqua started walking towards the light doorway. Reluctantly, Vanitas followed her. They walked through the doorway.

* * *

They walked out the light doorway, into the new area. As the doorway faded behind them, they looked up to take in the surroundings. Aqua gasped in surprise.

They were in the Land of Departure. Together, Aqua and Vanitas stood in the courtyard in front of the steps leading into the castle. A good chunk of the courtyard had been ripped up. The castle had been destroyed so that three of the side components were gone. The entire atmosphere of the world was darker, now, more ominous than the friendly tone it used to be.

After looking around in shock and confusion for a few seconds, Aqua looked forwards to find something that broke her heart. Master Eraqus's Keyblade lay on the ground, no doubt where he had been struck down.

Filled with copious amounts of sadness, Aqua and Vanitas walked towards it. Aqua reached for the Keyblade as she remembered her promise to Master Eraqus.

_Of course,_ Vanitas heard in Aqua's head as she reached for the Keyblade.  _I would never let that happen._

_I promise you I will bring Terra back,_ Vanitas continued to hear as Aqua picked up the Keyblade. She looked at it, thinking about Eraqus.  _Only this time, you'll see he has what it takes to be a Master._

Aqua sighed out, but then looked up in determination at the castle.

"Something we've been prepared for," Vanitas said as he looked up at the castle with equal determination. "But hoped we'd never have to do."

Aqua nodded in agreement as they started walking up the stairs.

_He's not as weak as you think_ , Vanitas heard Aqua's thoughts finish.

They walked through the castle hallways, taking stock of how much damage that Xehanort had caused. As they walked, Vanitas could sense guilt rushing through Aqua's head.

"This isn't our fault," Vanitas told her.

"We didn't watch Terra," Aqua said. "We broke our promise to the Master. We didn't..."

"We didn't do anything!" Vanitas declared. "Xehanort is the one who had all the Unversed sent out, dragging us away from home. Xehanort's the one who awakened the darkness in the first place. Xehanort's the one who tricked Terra into fighting the Master in the first place. Xehanort's the one who..."

His voice broke.

"...who struck down the Master."

They reached the wooden seats at the front of the grand room. Vanitas walked forward and placed Ventus down in the middle one. He turned around and faced Aqua, who had started to walk around the seats.

"Xehanort's the one who did this to the castle," Vanitas continued. "Aqua, listen to me..."

"I am listening," Aqua told him. "It doesn't change the fact that we're partly at fault for not keeping our promises to the Master."

She continued to look down, sadly. Vanitas breathed in for a second before he looked at her.

"Aqua," he told her. "No offense, but that's bull crap."

Aqua looked at him, surprised.

"He wasn't right about everything," Vanitas declared. "He kept Ven here and tried to hide him from what was happening. He put too heavy a burden on us, and expected us to just blindly follow it. He put doubt in Terra's head and just let him run with it. He might have been a good Master, but he wasn't that good of a man."

"Don't say that," Aqua yelled, offended. "We do not speak ill of those who aren't with us anymore! And since when do you swear?"

"I swear like a sailor," Vanitas told her. "I just never did it around you guys because I didn't want you to think less of me. And you know I'm right about this. He was a good teacher, practically a father to us. But that doesn't excuse the fact that he was wrong."

Aqua looked up at him, still offended at the way he spoke of the Master. After a few seconds, the offended look on her face turned into one of sadness.

"Y-you're right," Aqua relented. "He was the father we needed, but he was wrong."

Vanitas nodded, glumly.

"The least we can do," Vanitas said. "Is keep this promise."

Aqua nodded and picked up Master Eraqus' Keyblade. She walked behind the seat Ventus was sitting in and pointed the Eraqus' Keyblade at it. A keyhole appeared in front of the tip, and wind rushed out, causing some of Aqua's wrappings to fly back.

Once the wind died down, Aqua placed one foot back, pulled back the Keyblade, then thrust it forward. Light emerged from the tip of the Keyblade, and flew into the Keyhole. Light then came out of the keyhole, and started to cover more of the area. Aqua and Vanitas both closed their eyes as the light enveloped them.

* * *

Once the light faded, Vanitas and Aqua took that as the okay to open their eyes again. The Grand Room had been transformed into a circular white chamber with a chair in the center. From the chair, designs that looked like chains went along the floor and onto the walls, leading up to the indents shaped like the heart insignia on their wrappings. Vanitas sensed that this room was called the Chamber of Waking.

Vanitas turned to look at the sleeping form of Ventus in the chair as Aqua walked around it to look at him as well. She dismissed the Eraqus' Keyblade, and leaned down to put her hand on Ventus' head.

"I know it's a lonely place," she told him. "But you'll be safe."

"At least this time," Vanitas told him. "We don't have to worry about you running away again."

Aqua chuckled before she continued. "Terra, V, and I will be back to wake you up before you know it."

"As soon as we can, buddy," Vanitas added, ruffling his friend's hair.

Aqua and Vanitas looked at Ventus one more time before they turned and walked out of the room. They walked through the white hallways and out the castle's front doors. The pathway in front of them had turned purple, and darkness was all around them. They were in the realm between light and dark.

Wanting to see what the castle looked like now, Aqua and Vanitas turned around to inspect it. The castle was now very random with its shape, with parts going all over in multiple directions. The stained glass windows were still there, but now the castle walls were a brownish yellow with green trim.

The Land of Departure was gone, for now. Now, it was Castle Oblivion.

Aqua and Vanitas were drawn away from it when they heard a familiar voice in both of their heads.

_Aqua... Vanitas... Put an end to me._

They both turned to look down the road, confident that each other had heard the message.

"Terra," Aqua declared. "Tell us where to find you."

"We kind of need it," Vanitas added.

The two Keyblade Masters started walking down the road, ready to look for their friend.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got a number for how many chapters. Makes me a little anxious since we're so close to the end


	28. The Heart That Fought Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua and Vanitas look for Terra, but they don't like what they find

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the chapter where everything else goes bad

It didn't take Aqua and Vanitas too long to get the message they were looking for. As they flew through the Lanes Between, they saw an orb of dark energy originating in front of Radiant Garden. Taking it as a sign, they flew to the world.

Once they landed, they could tell something was wrong. The sky was dark and cloudy, despite the fact that Vanitas could sense that it was only the middle of the day.

They walked through the area that they had fought Dark Vanitas in not too long ago, and noticed Terra standing in the middle of the lower section. They ran down to see him, not ignoring the fact his hair was now silver, and his eyes were now golden yellow.

"Terra?" Aqua asked as they reached him.

"Buddy?" Vanitas asked as Terra looked down at them, curiously.

Terra reached a hand out towards them, causing them to be a little wary. However, before they could step back far enough, Terra grabbed Aqua by the wrappings across her chest, and lifted her up into the air. She struggled as he held her up. Vanitas watched on in horror as darkness surrounded the man.

"Who," Terra said in a new, deeper voice. "Am I?"

Aqua grunted as he held her in the air.

"Such a terrible," Aqua struggled. "Darkness. Fight it. Terra, please!"

"Fight, Terra!" Vanitas added.

"Terra," Terra said. "You say?"

He suddenly dropped Aqua, who fell onto her hands and knees, panting. Terra then grabbed his head in pain, exclaiming the whole time. As he covered his face with his hands, Vanitas figured it out.

"His 'vessel,'" Vanitas gasped. "You're not Terra."

Aqua looked at Vanitas with her jaw dropped, then back at Terra.

"Terra's heart has been extinguished," Terra-Xehanort said with a smile as he took his hands off of his face. Aqua gasped as he continued. "Smothered by the darkness within him."

During this, he summoned his Keyblade and raised it over his head. Aqua and Vanitas jumped back right as he swung it into the ground. They stood ready before they held out their hands.

"Our names," Aqua said as she summoned her Keyblade. "Are Master Aqua."

"And Master Vanitas," Vanitas said as he summoned his own Keyblade.

"Now return our friend's heart," Aqua said as they got into their battle stances. "Or pay the price!"

"Still wish it was that easy," Vanitas remarked.

Terra-Xehanort suddenly slid into the ground, and where he had stood, there was a familiar circle of darkness. Aqua and Vanitas both stood ready for him to come out, but then he jumped out right behind them. Very quickly, they managed to jump out of the way and turn around to face him.

When Terra-Xehanort came forward to attack them, Aqua got out of the way of the attacks, but Vanitas faced them. When Terra-Xehanort swung his Keyblade, Vanitas swung his Keyblade into it. He kept this up for a few swings, until Terra-Xehanort started a full attack. He started swinging his Keyblade very quickly in multiple directions. Vanitas managed to dodge multiple attacks, but the last three strikes hit Vanitas, and the stab into the ground sent out a shockwave that threw him back.

Terra-Xehanort then started sliding around the area covered in darkness. He tried sliding into Aqua, but she blocked it with a barrier. She then retaliated by sending out a blast of magic that hit him.

"Yield!" Terra-Xehanort then yelled as he pointed his Keyblade into the air.

Aqua and Vanitas had just enough time to summon barriers as the ground came up around them in an attack. The earth then went back into the ground, and they dropped the barriers.

"Yield!" Terra-Xehanort yelled once again as he pointed his Keyblade at them.

Multiple balls of darkness shot out of the Keyblade in quick succession towards Vanitas and Aqua. Aqua blocked the attack with a barrier, while Vanitas backflipped out of the way of them. Terra-Xehanort brought the earth up again, this time hitting both of them. Aqua had been knocked up into the air, while Vanitas left behind an image.

"Go to hell," Vanitas snapped as he teleported behind Terra-Xehanort and came down behind the man in a downwards slash.

The attack hurt Terra-Xehanort, but didn't do too much. The man then Terra's Finish to do a few strong attack. He narrowly missed Aqua with the attack, who retaliated by teleporting behind him and shot a fire ball at his back, which exploded on impact.

Terra-Xehanort then tried sliding around the area again, but this time Vanitas blocked his attack, and retaliated by slashing through the air, launching multiple balls of fire that flew right into the man's chest. Terra-Xehanort grunted in pain before he disappeared in a red flash.

He reappeared next to Aqua and started the same attack with lots of slashes at her. Luckily, she managed to run in the opposite direction from him just in time. Vanitas then jumped up into the air and sent bluish black lightning down at Terra-Xehanort. The lightning hurt him, but didn't phase him too much.

Terra-Xehanort and Aqua then started a pattern. Terra-Xehanort would slide around the area, shoot balls of darkness at Aqua in quick succession, and she would block them with a barrier, causing some of them to hit him instead. They repeated this a few times, until Terra-Xehanort got the hint and stopped.

Terra-Xehanort then started to shoot out the dark orbs one at a time, slowly. Aqua managed to block a few, but the barrier could only stay up so long. She ducked out of the way of one, and it hit Vanitas instead. Vanitas grunted as he started flipping out of the way of the orbs, slowly making his way towards Terra-Xehanort. Once he got close enough, he jumped forwards and kicked Terra-Xehanort in the chest. The man grunted in pain as Vanitas backflipped away.

Aqua then rushed in and attacked Terra-Xehanort with a combo before he could teleport away again.

"Go!" Vanitas yelled as he launched out a large ball of fire.

The fire then turned into smaller balls of fire that flew towards Terra-Xehanort in an arc. Unfortunately, Terra-Xehanort had just blocked with his Keyblade. As the fire hit the Keyblade, he stabbed his Keyblade into the ground. The shockwave knocked back Vanitas, who grunted in pain.

Aqua then launched another ball of fire at Terra-Xehanort, which exploded when it hit his back. Terra-Xehanort then teleported behind Aqua, and started doing the slashes in multiple directions at her. Unfortunately, she didn't move out of the way of the swings, or block, in time. She got the full brunt of the attacks, which smacked her around the area. The final stab's shockwave knocked her back.

Vanitas rushed in and did the usual downwards slash and upwards side slash. Immediately afterwards, he backflipped out of the way. For good reason, as Terra-Xehanort had forced the earth to come up in an attack again.

Aqua used a Cure spell to heal the wounds she got from an attack, and attacked Terra-Xehanort again with a ball of fire that exploded on impact. Terra-Xehanort was then encased in darkness and started swinging his Keyblade around in wicked attacks that missed both Aqua and Vanitas. He finished those attacks, and then opened up a little circle that releasing a giant, dark hand in an attack. He then went into the ground, leaving a little circle of darkness. The circle then went under Vanitas, who jumped out of the way. Just in time, because Terra-Xehanort came out of the circle with his hand raised, the large hand of darkness coming out of it.

Once the darkness faded, Vanitas rushed in and kicked Terra-Xehanort right in the crotch. As Terra-Xehanort staggered back in pain, Aqua launched another fireball at him that exploded on impact. She then looked at Vanitas with surprise on her face.

"I don't always fight fair," he admitted. "And my brother told me that's usually the quickest way to win a fight."

Both Aqua and Vanitas had to block again as Terra-Xehanort launched more balls of darkness at them in quick succession.

"But not in this case," Aqua said, standing next to Vanitas.

"Not really, no," Vanitas agreed.

Terra-Xehanort then raised his Keyblade up into the air, this time using a Cure spell. He straightened up again like the kick had never happened.

"I think we're about to regret teaching Terra Cure," Vanitas tried to joke.

"I think you're right," Aqua agreed with him, going along with the joke.

Vanitas blocked just in time for Terra-Xehanort to try to start doing wild attacks while encased in darkness again. The block managed to stump Terra-Xehanort, so Vanitas retaliated this time by front flipping forward and slashing across his chest.

Terra-Xehanort then slid towards Aqua and managed to get her with Terra's Finish attack. Vanitas then threw his Keyblade encased in fire at Terra-Xehanort, hitting him in the back. Vanitas then ran towards Terra-Xehanort as he caught his Keyblade.

Terra-Xehanort raised his Keyblade to block Vanitas, but instead on attacking with his Keyblade, Vanitas side kicked Terra-Xehanort's Keyblade. Terra-Xehanort had to adjust his grip to keep the Keyblade from flying out of his hand, and Vanitas kicked him in the gut. In retaliation, Terra-Xehanort tried stabbing forward at Vanitas. Vanitas managed to move out of the way of the stab, then front punched Terra-Xehanort in the head, then hit him in the side with a hammer fist. Vanitas then grabbed Terra-Xehanort by the wrist, then tossed him aside with his super strength.

Terra-Xehanort landed in front of Aqua, and she started to do a combo on him, getting every attack in, causing a good amount of damage. Terra-Xehanort tried retaliating by hitting her with his Keyblade, but she set up a barrier just in time. As Terra-Xehanort staggered back from the attack, Vanitas jumped up and kicked him in the side of the head.

Unfortunately, Vanitas had landed behind Terra-Xehanort in a way that he was facing away from the possessed man. Terra-Xehanort reached behind himself and grabbed Vanitas by his jacket hood. He then lifter Vanitas up over his head and threw him towards Aqua. Aqua managed to jump out of the way of the screaming Vanitas flying towards her in time. She turned back towards Terra-Xehanort.

"Stop hurting my friends," Aqua growled out.

Aqua then strategically attacked Terra-Xehanort, knowing when to attack, when to dodge, and when to block. She cartwheeled out of the way when Terra-Xehanort slowly fired single orbs of darkness at her, but then set up a barrier when he fired a couple of dozen towards her. They deflected off of the barrier, and flew in to attack him instead. When Terra-Xehanort tried to do the multiple slashing attacks at her, Aqua set up the barrier just in time, and launched a ball of fire that blew up on him before he could do a new attack. She kept up this system until Vanitas had gotten his strength all the way back.

Vanitas teleported in front of Terra-Xehanort and sucker punched him with super strength, which sent him flying up into the air. His Keyblade fell to the ground with a clatter. As Terra-Xehanort fell to the ground, Vanitas grabbed at him with telekinesis. He froze in the air, which surprised Aqua again.

"Another ability I was born with," Vanitas assured her. "Scared my babysitters with it."

Vanitas then shook Terra-Xehanort around, hitting him into the ground a few times before he relented and hit him in the ground one last time, near Aqua, who had understood. She had built up enough energy from the fighting for a Finish, and was saving it until something like this. She pulled back, gathering the energy she needed, and did a front flip forward, attacking the ground. The shockwave knocked back Terra-Xehanort, who grunted in pain.

Aqua and Vanitas looked at each other with small smirks, and high fived. Their attention was drawn back to Terra-Xehanort quickly.

"Not yet," Terra-Xehanort declared.

They both turned to look at Terra-Xehanort, getting back into their battle stances. Terra-Xehanort stood there with his hands made into fists, and he looked even madder, which they didn't think was possible.

"I will guide you to the depths of darkness," he growled out.

All of a sudden, purple fire was around the area, making it a circular arena now. Black smoke originated on Terra-Xehanort's back and from it, a muscular black being with white wrappings around it's mouth sprouted from the smoke. From the torso down, the being became like a genie, with the tip disappearing into Terra-Xehanort's back. Terra-Xehanort looked at them with a smug smile on his face as he floated in the air, his arms crossed.

"This battle isn't over yet," Vanitas observed.

"Man," Aqua complained.

The battle became more troubling.

Terra-Xehanort dismissed his minion and slid up to Aqua, trying to get her with the multiple slashes attack, but she blocked with a barrier then cartwheeled out of the way. Vanitas attacked him in the back with a slash, which caused his minion to appear in front of him, and his Keyblade to disappear. Terra-Xehanort then floated so that he was facing Vanitas. He then rose up, and his minion tried swiping at Vanitas from under his feet. Vanitas dodged, which he knew was a smart decision. Darkness was in the minion's hand.

Aqua then jumped in and attacked strategically once again. Getting in close to attack, and backing up as the minion tried grabbing at her. This was proven to be a smart method when the minion then sent blue energy flying towards her from each of its hands.

Vanitas rushed in and tried to do the downwards slash followed by the upwards side slash, but the minion grabbed at his Keyblade after he did the upwards slash. It then shook him a bit, but he made sure to let go, so he went flying away. Vanitas twisted around so that he landed in a roll, causing minimal damage. He re-summoned his Keyblade and rushed back in to keep fighting.

Just in time, too. The minion had started growling, and the atmosphere got even darker. It flew up into the air, and disappeared. A circle of darkness appeared below Aqua. She cartwheeled out of the way just as the minion flew out of the ground, into the air.

"I'll distract it," Vanitas told Aqua, running around the arena. "You go get him."

Aqua started running towards Terra-Xehanort while Vanitas ran towards a new circle in the ground.

"Hey, pointy head!" Vanitas yelled out. "You smell like one my niece's diapers!"

Vanitas could tell he had angered it when a circle appeared right below him. Mentally praising his ways of making people mad, Vanitas backflipped out of the way as the minion kept forming circles and flying up into the air.

While Vanitas did his job of distracting, Aqua rushed in and attacked Terra-Xehanort with some combos and Thunder magic, doing a good amount of damage to him. The idiot just stayed in the same spot with his arms crossed, smiling at her.

The minion reappeared behind Terra-Xehanort, and then sent blue energy towards Aqua and Vanitas again. They managed to dodge the energy, but then the minion rose up and pulled back its fist, indicating the beginning of a punch. Vanitas then ran in, also pulling back his fist for a punch, but calling on the full force of his super strength. The minion and Vanitas both made the move to punch each other, and their fists connected. The minion then went flying back fist first towards the purple fire wall barricade. Both Vanitas and Aqua looked at Vanitas' fist in confusion.

"Okay, how strong am I?" Vanitas asked himself.

He quickly jumped out of the way as Terra-Xehanort used the multiple very fast slashes attack. Aqua set up a barrier around him, and sent out a retaliating blast of magic at Terra-Xehanort.

"We'll figure it out later," Aqua told him.

Vanitas went in to attack Terra-Xehanort with a combo, while Aqua dodged attacks from the minion. The minion was very relentless with shooting the blue energy from both of its hands at Aqua.

The minion went back behind Terra-Xehanort, and growled once again, causing the area to go dark. They went back to the system of Vanitas distracting the minion while Aqua did combo attacks on Terra-Xehanort. Aqua launched a ball of fire that exploded when it hit Terra-Xehanort. Vanitas, meanwhile was thrown into the air by the minion's attack when he failed to get off of the circle of darkness in time.

As he fell through the air, Vanitas slashed with his Keyblade to keep from getting hit by the minion's punches. He twisted himself so that he was falling towards Terra-Xehanort, just as the minion reappeared behind him. Vanitas made it so as he fell, he stabbed at Terra-Xehanort with his Keyblade. He suceeded, and landed next to Aqua.

The minion suddenly flew towards them, and held them both down by their shoulders. Terra-Xehanort walked over to them, then started attacking them with the multiple quick slashes. Once the attack had ended, they were suddenly in an area that was orange all around them, with small dots to indicate stars around them.

"Look!" Aqua said, pointing forwards.

Vanitas followed her gaze to see Terra standing within a familiar floor pattern, struggling because he was alone. The minion was between them and Terra.

Aqua and Vanitas looked at each other and reaffirmed, "Limit."

Dodging the dark orbs that the minion threw at them, Vanitas and Aqua managed to make their way over to Terra and stand in the pattern with him. The three of them stood in position, waiting for the energy to raise up.

 _Terra_ , Aqua and Vanitas heard Aqua's voice say.  _Keep fighting._

The energy rose up high enough, and the three of them yelled out as they raised their Keyblades up, causing the light to grow in an attack.

Light flashed, and Aqua and Vanitas were standing in the gardens with the purple fire around them. Terra-Xehanort stood nearby, his minion still on his back.

"Just a little more," Aqua whispered.

"We're almost there," Vanitas whispered to her.

They continued to dodge at strategic moments, and going in to attack Terra-Xehanort with powerful attacks. Once they were confident they had done enough, the minion held Aqua and Vanitas down again, which gave Terra-Xehanort the chance to come in with the slashing attack again. Once again, they were taken to the orange area, Terra standing nearby in the Limit pattern.

"Okay," Vanitas turned towards Aqua. "I sense that he's getting close to being done, so this guy's gonna be even worse more relentless. I'll distract him, while you..."

He didn't get a chance to finish because the minion had grabbed him by his jacket and lifted him up into the air. Aqua stood for a second, wincing lots of times as she watched the minion mercilessly beat at Vanitas. At one point, the minion had punched Vanitas in the face so many times, that when he could finally looked away from it, he had to spit out a molar. Unfortunately, it just grabbed him by the hair, then pulled him away, punching him some more.

During this, Aqua ran over to the pattern, and jumped in to take place just as the minion threw Vanitas aside. He landed next to the patters, and managed to pull himself up.

"That hurt," Vanitas croaked out as he stood in the patterns.

They stood ready, but as they did, images flew through their heads, reminding them of happier times, and making them sad.

First they saw the first time they had met Ventus, when they had introduced themselves to each other, when Terra had gestured it was okay to talk to him. Next they saw Ventus waking up from the last coma he was in, and how they rejoiced at the fact he was awake. Then they saw the time that Terra and Ventus fought each other wooden Keyblade to wooden sword, and when Terra had given Ventus his wooden Keyblade afterwards. Then they saw the times Vanitas, Terra, and Ventus would hang out the times that Vanitas was back hime from one of his trips.

Then they started seeing more recent events. Aqua ruffling Ventus' hair on the Last Night. Vanitas walking over to his friends, assuring them he wasn't gonna miss the test. Aqua presenting them with the Wayfinders, then all four of them holding out their good luck charms. Aqua was declaring that they would always be together. Terra and Aqua battling each other during their Mark of Mastery Exam. Master Eraqus reassuring Terra. Terra, Ventus, Aqua, then Vanitas engaging their armors.

Vanitas took down the spinning wheel Unversed with Terra, then the tree Unversed with Ventus, and then the pumpkin carriage Unversed with Aqua. Terra and Aqua reassuring each other in the castle. The little girl, Kairi, thanking Aqua. Aqua observing the flowers Kairi had given her. Ventus giving his friends the passes to Disney Town. Vanitas jumping off the railing making the funny noise.

The mood became more somber as they saw the discussion they all had at the Radiant Garden reactor core. Terra and Aqua arguing about what he was doing with his powers. Terra declaring he was on his own. Ventus and Vanitas running off, leaving Aqua alone. Terra picking his Wayfinder back up tenderly, like he had almost lost it. Terra holding the Wayfinder next to a yellow star shaped fruit on a beach.

Terra, then Aqua and Vanitas talking with the young boys on that same beach. Master Eraqus looking at Terra with sadness. Master Eraqus fading into light as Terra tried to reach out to hug him. Terra falling on his hands and knees, crying at the loss of their Master. Terra, Ventus, Aqua, and Vanitas all gripping their Wayfinders in determination.

The last time they were together in the Keyblade Graveyard. Aqua saying she knew the Master had been struck down. Terra admitting he was only trying to protect Ventus. Ventus looking down, worried, as he explained the x-blade to them. Vanitas and Terra both trying to reassure Ventus. Ventus taking Terra and Aqua's hands off of him, and telling them to put an end to him.

It was once the last image faded that they started to hear the sound of the energy again.

"The three of us," Aqua's voice said somewhere.

"Will always be one," Vanitas finished.

Aqua and Vanitas raised their Keyblades to the energy with Terra, causing the light to grow in an attack once more.

Once the light had faded, Aqua and Vanitas were standing back in the gardens. Terra-Xehanort had been forced to lean forwards, gripping his shoulder in pain. Aqua looked at Vanitas, who was still beaten up from his fight with the minion.

"Are you okay?" she asked, before she noticed his Keyblade was smoking. "What's going on?"

"All that darkness," Vanitas huffed out. "From the attack... damaged my Keyblade. Joining in the Limit just made it worse."

He winced in pain as he looked around on the ground for his tooth.

"If I," Vanitas croaked out as he fell on his butt. "Overexert myself, OR my Keyblade... there's no telling what'll happen."

"Then stay down," Aqua told him, turning towards Terra-Xehanort. "I'll handle this."

"Yes, ma'am," Vanitas said, turning to look towards Aqua and Terra-Xehanort.

Light had gathered around Terra-Xehanort, and from the look of it, he was having trouble moving his arms.

"Stop fighting back!" Terra-Xehanort snapped.

After fighting against the light for a few more seconds, it forced his limbs apart. He stood with his legs and arms separated from each other.

"Terra," Aqua called out. "I know you're in there!"

"Fight it, man!" Vanitas also yelled, then gripped his side in pain.

Terra-Xehanort struggled against the light, then looked down at his Keyblade. He managed to force his arms up enough to grab his Keyblade by the teeth, and raised it up in front of his chest.

"This'll teach you," Terra-Xehanort declared. "Get out of my heart!"

He pressed his Keyblade into his chest, and dark energy came out in a small shockwave.

"Terra!" Aqua yelled.

"No!" Vanitas yelled as he fell down on his front.

Terra-Xehanort's Keyblade fell onto the ground and disappeared. Behind Terra-Xehanort, his minion rose up as he looked down warily. Darkness fell off of the minion onto the ground, forming a puddle of darkness. The minion fell into the puddle, and as Aqua started running forwards, so did Terra-Xehanort. As Terra-Xehanort sank into the puddle, Aqua leaped in after him. After a second, light flared from the portal, signifying that Aqua had summoned her armor.

"It won't be enough," Vanitas croaked out as he found his tooth and put it in his jacket pocket. "She has to get his body and get the hell out of there."

After a few seconds, nothing had happened, and the puddle was slowly but surely getting smaller. It was closing. He had to do something about it.

"I won't," Vanitas coughed out. "Let them get lost."

He pointed his Keyblade at the puddle and shot a beam of light out of it. The beam kept the puddle from shrinking, but Vanitas's already in pain body hurt even more. Not only that, but cracks had started to appear along his Keyblade.

"Ah!" Vanitas exclaimed as the pain became almost unbearable.

Not knowing anything else he could do, Vanitas reached into his pocket and pulled out his Wayfinder. He looked at it, hopefully.

"Lend me strength," Vanitas said as he put his left hand, and his Wayfinder, on the Keyblade hilt. "Lend... Me... Strength!"

Vanitas continued to shoot the beam into the puddle, determined to keep it open, no matter how much it hurt him. More cracks appeared along his Keyblade, and light shone through them, nearly blinding him. Vanitas called out in pain, but kept at it.

"To..." Vanitas panted as his Keyblade emitted a dangerous hum. "Protect... What... Matters."

Vanitas closed his eyes, turned his head to the left, and yelled as his Keyblade exploded, emitting a powerful force that knocked him unconscious with pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks once again to Everglow on YouTube for providing the Timeline to help me when I had continuity problems. And for helping provide a legitimately sad scene into this chapter. Couldn't do half of what this series will bring without him


	29. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after a strange event, the ruler of Radiant Garden and his apprentices investigate the town square

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say now that we're at the end

A man with dark hair made into a mullet led a blonde haired man, a dark haired man with even longer hair, and a red haired man through to the town square, where they were sure everything had taken place.

"Right this way," Braig said as he led Ansem the Wise, Dilan, and Aeleus into the town square.

Ansem the Wise walked readily into the town square where two young people, pieces of armor, and a key shaped sword lay. He kneeled down next to the young man with the silver hair and moved him into a sitting position.

"Young man," Ansem the Wise said. "What ails you?"

The man exclaimed at being awoken. Braig got on one knee and looked at the man with Ansem the Wise.

"Can you speak?" Ansem the Wise asked. "Tell me your name."

The man weakly managed to croak out, "Xeha...nort."

"Xehanort?" Ansem the Wise asked.

He failed to notice the smirk that Braig had on his face.

"Quickly," Ansem the Wise told Braig as Xehanort fell unconscious. "Get him to the castle!"

"You can count on me," Braig nodded.

Braig picked up Xehanort in his arms and looked at the man with the longest hair.

"Dilan," he said, looking over to the armor and key shaped sword. "Get those for me."

"And what of this one?" Ansem the Wise asked as he and Aeleus walked over to the other young person.

"Why," Aeleus observed. "He's just a boy!"

"Indeed," Ansem the Wise said with equal amazement.

This young man was very different than the other. His spikey hair was black, and he wore a simple outfit of a black jacket, black pants, and white and black sneakers. He had the accessories of a black scarf around his neck, a pendent, and a prominent belt and chain, showing that he was very young. The biggest difference between the two boys was that this one looked like he had been through a lot. His clothes were beat up, ripped, and scorched. There was even a fresh scar going up the right side of his face.

"He looks like he was just thrown through a garbage disposal," Ansem the Wise commented.

The blonde man then looked down at the boy's pockets and saw something purely white in one of the holes. Reaching in, he was very surprised to see he pulled out a molar. This caused the ravenette to stir slightly awake.

"That..." the boy croaked out, pointing at the tooth. "I'm pretty sure... it's mine."

The boy's face went slack, and his lips moved around as they stayed pressed together. No doubt, he was checking.

"Yep," he coughed out. "That's mine."

"My lad," Ansem the Wise said, concerned. "What happened to you?"

The boy looked like he was trying to think about it, but his hand suddenly went to his head as he exclaimed in pain.

"I-I don't remember," he croaked out, miserably. "I don't remember... anything."

"Do you at least know your name?" Ansem the Wise asked as he and Aeleus looked at the boy in worry.

"V-V van.. ee.. tus..." the boy managed to get out before he slipped out of consciousness.

"Vanitas," Ansem the Wise repeated.

Ansem the Wise picked Vanitas up in his arms and turned to Aeleus.

"He needs immediate medical care," he declared before handing Aeleus the molar. "Oh, and, put this somewhere good for it until we can put it back in."

Aeleus reluctantly took the tooth, and they both started towards the castle. However, as they started to walk up the ramp, Ansem the Wise placed his hand on Vanitas' chest and stopped suddenly.

"What is it, Master Ansem?" Aeleus asked.

Ansem the Wise felt again for confirmation, and once again, he was surprised.

"He most certainly is alive," Ansem the Wise told Aeleus. "But he has no heart beat or pulse at all. Almost as if... he has no life force."

The two continued to walk back towards the castle, eager to help and figure out what was wrong with Vanitas. However, something that no one had noticed when they were in the town square were the shattered remains of red glass. Or the small pieces of a metal frame. Or the small, broken, metal symbol that looked like a heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since none of the main characters in Birth by Sleep had a happy ending, I had to keep at it and have Vanitas' ending be an unpleasant one as well
> 
> But really, when you look at it, it's not really the end. One could argue that, this is only the beginning


End file.
